Do You Believe in Magic?
by f0xygrandma15
Summary: Hermione realizes that she still has feelings for Ron--almost two years after their life-changing breakup. But does Ron still feel the same? How will they ever get past their past? Well...do you believe in magic? If so, you may want to read this...*WIP*
1. Hard to Explain

A/N: hey! Okay, so I know I said not to expect the first chapter for a couple weeks, but tonight I just felt inspired to write, and so here it is, the first chapter of my story. Obviously, it's titled 'Do You Believe in Magic?', after a very good song. Plus, it kid of has one of those little puns to it, seeing as how…well, yeah, you all get it. okay, anyway, please tell me what you think! 

Lauren

Disclaimer: in a sense, I'm kind of like J.K. hey, it took me this long to put out the next story, and that seemed almost as long as three years…but no, I'm afraid I don't own Harry Potter. Damn. One can always hope for reincarnation though…

Chapter One

Hard to Explain

(or possibly, The World has Turned and Left Me Here)

The sky was a beautiful clear blue, with only a couple of clouds in the miles of space in front of them, and the leaves on the trees were delicately crisp, in a variety of reds, oranges, and yellows. The water was crystalline and shimmering, reflecting the brightness of the midday sun. The ground was covered in plush green grass, perfect for rolling around in. And that's exactly what was going on, just a little down from the lake…

"Ron, you've **really** got to stop, I think I'm going to lose my breath completely!!" a voice shrieked shrilly in between desperate gasps for air. But it seemed as though this request had been denied, for the shrieking continued, along with unrelenting giggling. An undoubtedly stronger boy—er, man, as he was just over 17 now—continued tackling his poor, helpless victim, until finally even he was out of breath. With one last squeeze, the shrieking stopped, and gave way to heavy panting. The two of them lay down in the grass, both heaving for air as though their lungs would collapse any second, the still ever-so-boyish one with a rogue grin on his face. They laid like this, in silence, for a few minutes, admiring the sky and taking in every bit of the atmosphere as they could as it dawned on them: 

This was their very last year at Hogwarts.

After a moment, a still-very-red-in-the-face Hermione propped herself up onto her elbows and looked over at Ron. As she spoke, he mimicked her movement and propped himself upon his own elbows.

"Ron, can you believe it? We're actually…well, we'll be leaving this year…" she said, a hint of sorrow in her voice. 

She had good reason to be sad. Well, they both did. After spending what seemed like a lifetime there at Hogwarts, it seemed strange to suddenly leave and enter the real wizarding world. They had gotten so used to being there so much that it seemed that every day would always be like that. Thinking of how much they had grown up over the years brought a mixed expression to Hermione's face; partly in awe, partly upset.

Ron looked at Hermione, then up at the sky again. It hadn't seemed to have fully sunk in until she had mentioned it, and something in the way she said it made it catch in his throat and hit the bottom of his stomach like he had swallowed a large rock. For a moment, he closed his eyes and felt a little bit of a breeze, and unconsciously ran his hands through his fluffy red hair. (At one point, he had made a conscious effort to tame his hair, but after a while he decided not to care so much any more, and so it simply sat on his head in the manner of a cloud.) He sighed and looked back down at Hermione.

"You act like it's the worst thing in the world. Wouldn't you like to go out there, in the real world? I'd like to think it'd be at least a little exciting for you…" he said, trying to cheer her (and himself) up. Although he hardly (and I mean hardly) showed it, he really didn't like much to see Hermione sad, especially about something as, well, seemingly trivial as that. Besides, Ron thought, they still had the whole year left in front of them…

"Well, yes, part of me would very much like to enter the 'real world,' get a job, make a living, and all of that, but the other part of me… the other part of me is really going to miss this. You know, you, me, Harry, Ginny, and everyone else here. It won't ever be quite like this again…how many chances are you going to get to roll around with your best friend in a tickle fight in the grass? I mean…these are the best memories I'll ever have, and it's sad to think that that's what they're going to end up as, just memories…"

Before she knew it, a tear had rolled down her freckled cheek and landed on the grass. As soon as she felt it leave her chin, she wiped it away, embarrassed. She hated getting so emotional over such a seemingly trivial matter, but somehow this time she hadn't been as careful as she usually was. 

Ron noticed this, and suddenly realized how vulnerable she seemed. Without thinking, he reached over and took her into his arms, lightly rubbing her shoulder.

"'Mione, there are going to be plenty of wonderful things that will happen in the future that are going to be so amazing, you won't even have time to think back to this…look, you will always have your friends and family, and as long as you have them, you will always be creating more and more memories. Even though we're leaving, doesn't mean you're leaving all those people behind! And besides, there's plenty of parks to have plenty more tickle fights in, trust me. You won't be able to stay away from me very long," he said, stroking the ends of her hair gently as she snuggled her head into his shoulder and chuckled. She felt much better now, hearing Ron's words, but much more so from being in his arms. It had been quite some time since he had held her like that. In fact, he hadn't held her like that since…

Since they had dated, back in 5th year. 

Suddenly, the memory of them together took over her mind, and again she was filled with the mixed feeling of admiration and sorrow. Those had been such good times, yet at the same time, disheartening times. Though, looking back, they seemed much more horrible then than they did now. It was very, very hard to understand, let alone explain. _If only I hadn't been so stupid_, she thought to herself as Ron continued to run his fingers through her hair. _If only…_

Wanna find out what happened?? Well, first you'll have to review…I know, it's cruel. What can I say?


	2. Breaking the Girl

A/N: Hey you guys! Thank you guys so, so much for reviewing my first chapter, you have no idea what it means to me! Well, I take it you guys liked the first chapter, so here you go, number two for you. Just to let you guys know, Hermione's going to be having flashbacks of their relationship throughout the story, so you'll get the full story eventually. This first part of the chapter is just about when they broke up, so…don't worry! You'll get the full story! Hope you guys like this one! 

Lauren

Disclaimer: no no no, I am NOT JK! Haha, not like I could ever convince anyone that I was…

Chapter Two

Breaking the Girl

It was May, almost the end of their fifth year at Hogwarts. Hermione and Ron had been dating for six months. Everything seemed to be going fine, and everyone seemed to be perfectly happy. Well, except for Hermione. And the thing was, she didn't know why. I mean, if you had Ron for a boyfriend, you'd be absolutely thrilled, right? He was a great guy, undoubtedly. But for some reason… Maybe it was that, as Ron had gotten older and, in turn, even taller and increasingly attractive, the other girls had started flocking to him like bees to pollen or bears to honey. Maybe it was that, what with this happening, he seemed to have lost whatever shyness that had encompassed him before, making it seem as though he actually enjoyed—or even flourished in—all this new attention. Maybe it was the inevitable and overbearing jealousy that completely washed over her every time she saw him with another girl, be it in a deep conversation with Lavender or a simple hello with Padma. Or maybe it was that, no matter how hard she looked, he never gave her any sort of sign that told her that being with her really ever meant anything to him.

Sure, occasionally, he would hug her, and every so often, he would hold her in his arms, but times like those were rare. Extremely rare. They had started spending less and less time together. She began to feel neglected, unappreciated, and unwanted. And the fact that he could make her jealous only made her become angry. The only thing she knew to do was, well, to separate herself from him. Of course, she would realize later that the logical thing would have been to have talked to him about it first, tried to resolve it, but at the time, all she could think of was the pain. It had been hurting her so badly that often times she ended up angry with herself, for not being pretty or funny or interesting enough. And she couldn't really take any more of it. 

Which is why she simply…let go. 

But right now, sitting there on the grass in Ron's arms, the last thing she wanted to do was let go. She took a deep breath and shook the memory from her thoughts, at least for the time being. Besides, they were friends now, and that's all that mattered. No matter how bad the past had been, right now, she had him on her side, and the thought of that comforted her. 

After a few more minutes of silence, Ron noticed that the shadow of the school had encompassed them, and that it would soon be nightfall. He cleared his throat pointedly and lightly tapped her shoulder. She lifted her head and looked up at Ron. _Oh, those wonderful eyes…_ she couldn't help but think as he spoke to her.

"It's getting dark…we should head back inside. Harry's probably wondering where we are by now, it's been a couple hours."

Hermione nodded in agreement, silently cursing the sun for setting, and got herself back on her feet. After Ron stood up beside her, they headed back toward the castle. 

It must have been quite amusing, watching the two of them head back to the castle side by side, as Ron practically towered over her now. Though they once were near the same height, over the years he had grown considerably more than she had; he was now nearing six foot three, and she was at a disappointing (in her eyes) five foot two. Being so, standing next to him, she reached to about his shoulder. Harry, on the other hand, had grown to about the average male height of five foot ten. But, regardless of how noticeably shorter Harry was than Ron, he wasn't the one that got all of the ridiculous teasing. 

The two of them entered the entrance hall, where they immediately heard the bantering of a certain couple coming down the hallway. Ron stopped Hermione and moved her up against the wall so they could eavesdrop without being noticed.

"But I really think that Romeo should have waited just a little longer—just a little! —before he you know, offed himself like that. I mean, come on, she woke up literally two seconds later, they could have been happy together!!" she declared, making wild gestures with her hands. It was rare indeed to see Ginny speaking so fervently about anything, since she had always been the quiet type, but as she had gotten older, she had started acting a little more confident in her opinions. 

"Yeah, but as great as all that sounds, it's not the point of the story! There's no way they could have truly been happy if they had lived, because even though they would have had each other, they would have never been able to lead normal lives! I mean, their families absolutely hated each other, and you can't really…*sigh* it was just fate, Ginny, that's what it was. They died, but they died together, and they died loving each other. Can't you just accept that?" he said, with a hint of pink frustration showing in his cheeks. He was beginning to wonder if introducing Ginny to muggle literature had really been such a good idea. Ginny grumbled as they turned to go up the stairs, but something drew Ginny's attention to whatever was behind her. She turned around to find Ron and Hermione standing there, attempting to act as though they had been having a normal conversation the whole time. Of course, both of them hoped that it wouldn't come to anyone's attention that no one really ever has a normal conversation against a wall next to the door of the entrance hall.

Apparently, no one noticed. 

"There you are! We've been wondering where you guys were," Ginny said happily. She wasn't the only happy one, Harry was glad she was distracted now.

"Yeah, where'd you go? One minute, we're all in the library, and the next…"

"Oh, you know, we just went for a walk and ended up hanging out in the grass by the lake, that's all," Ron replied, reaching down to sneak a little tickle attack by Hermione. Reading his mind (or perhaps anticipating his move), Hermione slid a foot away just in time, giving him a 'oh-no-you-don't' look, which in turn caused him to smile alluringly. Harry couldn't help but wonder if they really had broken up, for that chemistry between them was certainly still there. But then, before he could help it, the memory was coming back to him…

He would always remember that day. Well, it was the kind of day no one can ever forget. Much like your own birthday or Christmas, but in more of an apocalyptic sort of way. No one (besides Harry, but even he didn't truly know) knew it, but that day was like an apocalypse for Ron…

Hermione didn't know what she was doing. Her hands were shaking, and she felt a terrible aching in the pit of her stomach. It might have been her heart telling her that she was making a horrible mistake, but she was too busy listening to that damn logic in her head to notice. She fiddled with the folded paper in her hands, sighed, and quickly walked over to where he was sitting in the common room. He looked up at her with a smile.

"Hey Mione, how-"

"This is for you," she interrupted, placing the letter in his hand. Dean, Seamus and Neville all looked curiously at him, eyeing the note suspiciously, but remained silent. Without looking at his face, she turned to leave, accidentally catching Harry's eye out of the corner of her own as she walked away, which only made her feel worse. Regardless, she practically leapt up the stairs as fast as she could, anything to not be in the room when he read it. 

Hermione slammed the door nervously behind her and plopped herself onto her bed. She tried to distract herself by doing the assigned reading for Potions the next day, but she couldn't, for the life of her, focus. _Anything, do anything, just don't think about it…_ But she couldn't avoid that terrible feeling in her stomach. It felt like it was eating her alive. She tried to comfort herself by telling her heart that she had done the right thing, but it was unwilling to listen. It was too busy wishing Ron would come knock on the door…But he didn't, which Hermione reminded herself was for good reason.

She finally worried herself to sleep, only to have horrible dreams, and the thing she found herself longing for was, ironically, the comfort of Ron's arms. But sadly, all she had was her pillow, which was really of no comfort at all. 

Now, breaking up with someone through letter is, of course, less than responsible, but to Hermione, it was the only way she would get to say what she felt without getting interrupted or overly emotional. Her nervousness was at times so unbearable, she would decide that it wasn't worth bringing up in the first place. This time though, she knew she had to do it. So she did what she had to do. And that was that. 

And she spent everyday for three months after that convincing herself that she did the right thing.

Harry shook his head remorsefully, as it occurred to him that it really was true. __

Okay, I know that was a little sad, but don't worry, that was the worst of it. Well, sort of. We're still going to see Ron's reaction and what he goes through, so…yeah, sad stuff. But hey, the present story s going to be happy and fun! It's only the flashbacks that are going to be sad. Well, mostly. Some of them are really funny or cute. 

You know what? I'm gonna stop blabbering and just let you keep reading the story. Oh yeah, and review, you can do lots of that. (teeheehee…)


	3. You Can't Do That

Hey you guys! Thank you so much for staying with my story, it makes me so happy! Okay, I have an important note to make: I said in chapter one that Hermione and Ron dated in their fifth year, but I realized that, for the story to make sense, one of two things would have had to happen:

Either they would be in their sixth year now, or

They would have dated in sixth year.

It may not make sense as to why this would be now, but you'll get why in the next couple chapters. I've decided that since I like the way they are now, in this level of maturity, and to help the story stay that way, they dated in sixth year, not fifth. Does that make sense? I hope so. I hope I haven't upset anyone with this new choice. If so, I'm sorry, but it works better this way. SIXTH year. Hehe. Just making sure. Anyway, here's the next chapter for you, hope you likey!

Lauren

Disclaimer: Harry Potter (or Ron!) does not belong to me!!! Dammit!

Chapter Three

No one knew what a broken heart felt like better than Ron, though Harry came in a close second. After all, Harry was the only one Ron really talked to about it, and for the first time he could remember, Harry felt not particularly glad but depressed that Ron confided in him. Every time Ron would talk about it, Harry felt like it had happened to him as well. 

For almost two months, Ron was a mess. A complete mess. In the beginning, he would sit up late at night, unable to sleep. He would wake up early in the morning, looking for something, anything to do that would distract him from her. But no matter what, his mind refused to leave her alone. It was like adding insult to injury; first, she broke his heart, and now she was there to haunt him. 

No matter how much he would have liked to find a reason to be angry, he couldn't, for some reason, put the blame on her. She had hurt him terribly, but he still missed her. For the rest of the term, before summer started, he would see her in the halls, laughing, smiling, just existing peacefully, and he would wonder how she did it. Did he really mean that little to her, that she could just dump him and not even blink an eye? Maybe that was what changed Ron. Because it was now painfully obvious to Hermione: Ron had definitely changed.

For one thing, he seemed distant. Hermione could remember how they used to be a lot closer. Not that they weren't close now, but it seemed as though he appreciated her more when they were together. Now, she got the feeling that she didn't really mean that much to him any more, though she figured it probably came with the consequences. After what she did, why should he care for her? But even though she knew she was to blame, it still hurt her that he had moved on. Of course, she didn't know this, but it had taken Ron the entire summer trying to get over her. And even more that she didn't know was that it killed him inside that he hadn't even succeeded.

Which is where the other part of his change comes in: in an effort to distract himself from Hermione, (whether it was a conscious effort or not was uncertain to his friends at the time) he began flirting with anything that moved. And it drove Hermione crazy. He had done it so often over the summer that now it just came naturally to him. And boy, did other girls notice it. No, not just notice, they reveled in it. Point in case: one Lavender Brown. Now, Ron had never really shown any interest in Lavender before. But recently…maybe he didn't even particularly like her, but the fact that she was a girl and she was attractive made it all the more easy to do it. And the fact that he flirted with her naturally sparked a reaction on her part. Harry and Ginny knew it was definitely not characteristic of Ron, but what could they do? They knew it was like a painkiller for him. They just had to let him do what he had to do to move on. 

Hermione, of course, could only go by what she saw. And what she saw was not to her liking at all.

"Hermione, are you okay? Is there any particular reason you're glaring daggers at a certain _someone_ over there, or is it just a coincidence that it happens to be Lavender?" 

Hermione blinked like she had just been smacked in the head. Indeed, she had been staring directly at Lavender and Ron, who were on the other side of the library, with such an intensity that that instant she could feel a headache coming on. She rubbed her temples gently and looked over at the smirking Weasley that had just caught her in the act.

"Hmm? I wasn't glaring at anybody! I was trying to figure out this Arithmancy problem. I guess I just got a little lost in thought in the process," she said, not able to look Ginny in the eye. She was both too embarrassed and too angry, and couldn't risk revealing either of these emotions. 

"Hermione--"

"Just so you know, I'm not jealous. Not one bit. Actually, I could care less. So what if her likes her, good for him…she's probably really good for him. Better than I was anyway…" she said with a sigh. She closed her books and shoved them back into her bag.

"I'm going back upstairs, I'll see you later." She got up and threw her bag over her shoulder, faking a smile as she looked back at Ginny. 

"I'll see you at dinner?" she said, more as a statement than a question. Ginny sighed. "Yeah, at dinner…" she said to herself. She looked back over at the subject of Hermione's hatred and sighed. _Ron, you stupid git, why don't you just drop the act and get over yourself? She's hurt enough already…_

Ginny was in a difficult situation. As Hermione's closest female friend and Ron's little sister, she had been witness to everything that happened that summer. So she could sympathize with both of them, but she would have rather been able to choose one side than swing in between the two like a pendulum. It was as though she had become a pensieve for not just one but both of them, which only resulted in an overflow of the thoughts and feelings of three people. Still, Ginny tried as best she could to be there for both of them. Her head, on the other hand, was begging for something to give.

At that moment, who would happen to walk over but the wonder boy himself? He looked around the table, looking like he expected something, but at the lack of that something, he reluctantly sank into Hermione's empty chair and rested his chin on his hand.

"Where's Hermione? I thought I saw her in here just a second ago…" he said, his eyes roaming the library, expecting her to pop out of one of the aisles at any moment. Ginny looked over at the door and saw Harry walk in. She flashed him a smile as he walked over. Ron, thinking it was Hermione, nearly gave himself whiplash turning around, but alas, his face fell when he discovered it was only Harry. 

"Well it's nice to see you too Ron!" he said, dropping his bag on the table and taking a seat next to Ginny. 

"Oh, well, you just missed her. She went back to the common room," Ginny replied monotonously, holding back her frustration. Harry could tell she was strained, but didn't mention it.

"Really? Oh, well I guess I'll go follow her then…" he said with a simple grin. Harry shook his head and rolled his eyes as Ron left the room. Even he was getting annoyed by the way Ron acted sometimes. Sure, he knew the reasons behind it, but there was a limit to which it was understandable. Of course, Ron had left it about fifty feet behind him.

"Harry, why doesn't he just realize that he's still crazy about her?" she asked, hitting the table violently and attracting concerned stares from around the room.

"Well, he's just being…careful, I guess," he answered, wondering the same thing.

Hermione was sitting in a chair in the corner when Ron walked in, too absorbed in her studies to notice. It was only when he sat down in front of her that she looked up.

"Hey," she said, an inevitable grin spreading across her face. _What?!? A minute ago I was angry at him!_

"Hi. What are you doing?" he asked, the Weasley charm seeping from his pores. But this time, Hermione noticed, it didn't seem intentional, which made her grin a little bigger.

"Oh, just doing the Potions reading. What brings you here?" she asked, fighting back the (very strong) urge to ask what could have possibly torn him away from Lavender.

"Oh, you know, it was a little noisy in the library, and I have some Divination work to finish, so…mind if I join you?" he asked with a sweet grin.

Like she could really resist.

They sat there in comfortable silence, working on their studies, Hermione finding it hard to wonder what could possess him to voluntarily do school work at the same time as trying to read about the effect of wolfsbane mixed with monkwood on the occurrence of the solar eclipse. Suddenly Ron looked over at her from the corner of his eye. Hermione, feeling herself being watched, looked up in frustration, partly from being interrupted, partly from the feeling of her cheeks turning pink from the attention, only to find he was looking at his book. Confused, she went back to reading, when she got that feeling again. But as soon as she looked up, he was back to his book. _Okay then…_ she thought, returning to her book. Once more, she had that feeling.

"What is it, Ron?" she asked, a little more impatiently than she had intended.

"Nothing. I'm just really glad we're friends again, that's all." He grinned that perfectly lopsided grin of his and, after holding her glance for a moment, returned back to his Muggle Studies. Hermione gulped as she grinned uncertainly. _Well, don't I feel stupid?_

"So am I Ron, so am I," she said. That being the only comprehensible thing she could find to say.

Okay you guys, I'm not too sure of how that chapter was, so tell me what you think! I definitely have big plans for the upcoming chapters, so don't worry. It was just establishing a few things first that had me stumped, so…review! Please! 

Oh, and as a little inspiration, I thought I'd let you know that I won't review until I get a certain amount of reviews, so…heehee, I'm cruel, I know. Review! Tell your mom and your friends and your dog to review! Just do it!


	4. Making Up is Hard to Do

A/N: Thank you all so much for all the reviews! I guess my little threat worked on all of you…hehe. Anyway, here's the next one, hope you guys like it. Oh, and by the way, this entire chapter is one long flashback, just to clear that up for you guys. 

Lauren

Disclaimer: if I owned Harry Potter, would I be this excited for next Saturday?? No, not quite.

Chapter Four

Making Up is Hard to Do

It had taken Hermione three days to convince Ron to be her friend again, and they were the longest, most agonizing days of her life. But if he had made her wait a year, she would have hung in there. Anything it took, she would have done it, because to her, having Ron on her side again was worth doing anything.

During the second week of school, Hermione was feeling more depressed than she had all summer. At least over the summer she hadn't had to see him, but now he was everywhere she turned. It was driving her crazy, because now he was the one existing peacefully, and she wondered how he did it. Did she mean that little to him? It bothered her that she was so still so upset over something that had happened four months earlier.

She couldn't stand being in the common room at night, because that's where Ron, Harry and Ginny would be every night, so she began spending even more time in the library. She wouldn't return to the common room until two in the morning, not only because of the fact that, as Head Girl, she was instructed to check the halls before retreating to bed, but also because no one in their right mind stayed up past two. No matter how hard Harry and Ginny tried to coerce her into staying in the common room, it was to no avail. She couldn't possibly stand putting Ron in that kind of position.

By the middle of the second week, Hermione was holding back so much she almost burst. She talked to Ginny about it, but only to a certain point. She didn't like burdening everyone with her problems when in retrospect, they were quite trivial in the scheme of things. So she kept it mostly inside. 

On this particular Thursday night, Hermione made her routine stop in the library, plopped herself down, practically dumped the contents of her bag onto the table, and sorted through her books. She took a deep breath, scanned the table, and immediately plunged into her Potions work. It must have been an interesting sight to see, Hermione the robot at it again, but noticeably more vigorously than usual. No one said anything though, they just carried on and let her do her thing.

"Ron, where are you going?" Ginny asked, noticing him getting up from one of the chairs in the common room. She knew—well, strongly hoped—the answer, but asked anyway.

"Oh, just going to take a walk, I'll be back in a little bit." He walked through the portrait hole and into the corridors.

He slowly made his way down the hallway and down the flight of stairs until he reached the library. Calmly, he opened the door and silently, unnoticeably, walked across the room, Hermione too involved to look up. He made it to a table across the room, sat himself down, and proceeded to do nothing else but watch. Watch the robot go at it until she got so exhausted that she fell asleep, her head resting on the palm of her hand.

By the time Ron got up, most of those in the library had left and gone to bed. Indeed, it was one in the morning, so it was usual for Hermione to be the only one there under normal circumstances. He walked over to her and slowly, quietly, closed her books and placed them in her bag. He flung it over his shoulder and looked down at the bushy hair spread across her face. As gently as he could, he knelt down and slid his arms underneath her, pulling her out of her chair and into his arms. She moaned a bit, mumbling something about the famous Witch Riots of 1876, and rested her head on his shoulder. He carried her out of the library and up the stairs, looking down at her occasionally with a smile just barely perceptible. 

They were halfway back when Ron began having trouble. He was strong, but not that strong. He set her down on her feet gently, pulled her up by her waist, and held her on his hip like one would hold a child. Hermione immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, and began mumbling again. 

"Whaddar you doin outta bed, you know you shouldan be outin the halls at this tima night…if you don't go now, I'll hafta report this to McGonagall…" she slurred, sounding slightly drunk. It was then that he remembered her Head Girl duties. Feeling slightly guilty, he took off down the hallway again and searched through almost all the school before feeling satisfied, carrying her the whole time. _I guess I underestimated the responsibilities she has…_ he thought, finally making it back to the portrait hole.

"Spew," he whispered, and with a sweet smile, the Fat Lady opened up and let them in. Sure, he had woken her up, but the sight before her was worth it. And sure, it really wasn't supposed to be spew, but out of spite for Hermione, Ron had convinced the Fat Lady to change it from S.P.E.W. Who wanted to say all those letters anyway?

He climbed through the portrait hole to find an empty common room. He tiptoed up the stairs to the girls' dorm and quietly opened the door. He walked over to her bed, placed her bookbag on the floor, and sat Hermione in a chair. He pulled off her sweater, folding it and placing it on the table by her bed, and searched through her drawers for some pajamas. He softly removed her school clothes, placed them on the table, and pulled her nightgown over her head. She let out a little yawn, and again, Ron smiled that barely perceptible smile. He pulled back the covers, laid her down, and tucked her in. He turned to stand up, but the sudden urge to kiss her came over him. He bent down quickly and without a second thought, pecked her forehead. He walked over to the door and, after a brief pause, descended the stairs to the common room, taking himself to bed.

The next morning, Ron, Harry and Ginny were at the table eating breakfast when the owls came with the mail. Ron was happily eating his toast and telling Ginny how exciting the new quidditch season was going to be when something fell onto the eggs he had piled up on his plate. Harry and Ginny both looked at the note curiously, but Ron looked more upset that something had obstructed his view of his lovely plate of food. Stuffing the piece of toast he was holding in his mouth, he opened the parchment and recognized the handwriting at once. 

_Ron,_

_ I know I've been a terrible jerk, and that we aren't really the best of friends any more, but I was wondering if you could find it in your heart to forgive me and give me another chance. I know that I probably don't deserve it, and that you're probably fine without us speaking, but I miss you terribly and wish I could take back everything that happened. If your answer is no, I understand, and I won't bother you any more. But please, think about it._

_Love,_

_Hermione_

Ron read the note over almost ten times before he folded it up and placed it in his pocket. Noticing the curious eyes across the table, he gave Harry and Ginny a small smile.

"Ron, what is it?" Harry asked.

"Oh, nothing, just um…McGonagall asked to see me quickly. No big deal," he said, looking down at his plate of eggs. The others seemed satisfied and so, carried on with their breakfast.

That night, Hermione was in her usual spot, the effort going into her homework rivaling that of last night to the point where people began to wonder if she was sane. Yes, she was perfectly sane, she wanted to tell them, but she was trying so hard not to worry about the note she sent Ron, and the only way to distract herself was to work, work work.

At eight o'clock, the door to the library opened and in entered Ron, one hand in his pocket folding and unfolding the note. He slowly walked up to her table and pulled out a chair directly in front of her. As she tried not to look up, he sat down.

After a moment of showing Ron how hard-working she was, she looked up and put down her quill.

"Hello," she said, amazed at how well she was keeping her composure while saying the first words she had been able to speak to him in over three months.

"Hello," he responded, amazed at how difficult that one-syllable word had been to say in the presence of the bushy-haired, wide-eyed girl—erm, woman—he had just carried to bed last night.

"So um…what brings you here?" she asked, knowing very well he had gotten the note, but not quite expecting him to actually care.

"Well, I got your note. I thought we could talk—this time, without a quill and parchment," he added with a brief smile. Hermione blushed, but more out of embarrassment; based on past experience, she wasn't too good with words when it came to situations that involved speaking in person. 

"Oh, um, sure, okay," she stumbled.

"So um, about us becoming friends again…well, I guess I have a few things to say first, if you don't mind," he asked.

"Sure, yeah, of course…"

"Well, say we became friends again. I don't know if I'd be able to immediately feel normal about us again, I mean, it has been three months since we talked, so obviously it's going to take some time to work things out. And then there's the chance that we'll stop talking again, and you know, I really don't think I can handle that again, because it just hurt too much the first time it happened. That would be really hard to deal with a second time. Also, if we become friends again, we're going to reach this point where you're going to tell me how much you fancy this other person, and I'll probably be okay with that, but I'll really just be wondering why it's not me instead of whoever that other bloke's gonna be…and then I won't really know what to do with myself." He took a deep breath and sighed like twenty pounds had been lifted off his shoulders. He rested his hands on the table and twiddled his fingers expectantly.

Hermione sat there like twenty pounds had been dropped on her shoulders. He had really said a lot, and though it was wonderful that he had expressed his thoughts on the matter, she felt a little overwhelmed. She did understand exactly what he had meant, about everything, but was still trying to figure out how to respond to it. She wiggled her toes uncomfortably in her shoes and leaned against the table. How did he say all of that so calmly?

"Well, Ron, I um…"

_Well, it's a good start, now keep going…_

"I um, understand what your saying…and um, well," she continued.

Oh, come on! You're doing a really great job of convincing him that you want to be friends again… she thought sarcastically. 

"I'm not really, um, expecting or hoping that you and I will uh, go back to having a um, a normal friendship right off the bat, you know?"

_Okay, okay, that's good, keep going…_

"I'm only hoping that you and I can stop ignoring each other and acting like the other doesn't exist, because really that's the main thing that's bothering me, I mean, I hate it when I see you and I know I can't talk to you, because I really just miss talking to you and it's driving me crazy, so if that could just stop I would be so glad."

She took another deep breath and looked up from the desk she had been staring at the whole time to see how Ron had reacted so far. He was listening attentively, but he was holding back a smile. Hermione felt a little discouraged by this, thinking he was laughing at her, but she was determined to keep going. So she did.

Or she tried to anyway.

"Um, about the not talking for a while thing…"

Well, what am I gonna say? It's not going to make much of a difference to try and explain my reasons to him… It happened, and I won't ever do it again, but will he believe me? He doesn't seem to be taking me very seriously at the moment…

Ron let out a little giggle. Hermione, more frustrated than ever, flashed him an evil glare that shut him up.

"Um, I promise that that will never happen again, as I was not quite sure what I was doing and I really didn't mean it. And to tell you the truth," here she paused, taking another breath. Ron listened attentively.

"as much as this probably bothers you to hear it, you are that person." She sighed heavily, realizing what she had just said, and trying not to blush. 

Ron, for one thing, almost had a headache from trying not to smile. It was just so unusual to see her so vulnerable. He wasn't smiling in a mean way, he just thought it was quite admirable seeing that in her. For another thing, had she just admitted she still liked him? _No, no, that's not what she meant. She was just saying…something else._ He caught her eye and saw her smile sheepishly. _I hope he didn't realize what I meant by that last statement_ she prayed. 

"Well, um, I need to finish my potions work," Ron said, looking at the clock on the wall. It was ten thirty. Where had the time gone? She wondered. Ron got out of his chair. Hermione's heart sank a little, but she looked up at him and grinned.

"Okay, well um, good luck," she responded, feeling a little dumb for not knowing what else to say.

She watched him as he left, feeling even more unsure about everything than ever before.

Hope you guys liked that! Sorry it was so long, but I couldn't stop writing! Please review! Pretty please?


	5. How Much Longer?

A/N: Okay, since OOTP came out on Saturday, I assumed no one was really gonna be reading this anytime soon, so I just kinda waited to put this one up…so you've all had time to review lots and lots!!! (wink wink, nudge nudge) So I hope you all enjoy this one! Oh, and just to make sure everybody's on the same page, this concludes the last chapter's flashback. Okay? Yay! Hope you all like it!

Lauren

Disclaimer: the fact that I'm admitting you were all too busy reading J.K.'s work to read mine obviously tells you something…

Ooh, and btw, OOTP was soooo good!! Best one yet!!

Chapter Five

How Much Longer?

Hermione woke up with the sun shining in her eyes and her face plastered to the library table. She opened her eyes slowly and stretched out her arms, yawning. She looked at her watch and shrieked. _Nine-thirty?!? Oh god! Oh Merlin, oh bloody hell… _She slammed her books closed, shoved them into her bag, flung it over her shoulder, straightened out her skirt and flew out the door. She practically slid down the hallways, leaping over students and tables and Mrs. Norris. She leapt up the stairs and was about to turn the corner toward the common room when she felt herself slam into something tall and hard, throwing her (and her victim) ten feet backwards. 

She felt herself tumble to the floor against a wall behind her with a soft thud. Her eyes were closed tightly, not sure of what had just happened, but afraid of whatever she would see in front of her. Taking a deep breath, she placed her hands on the floor and pushed herself up against the wall into a sitting position. Almost immediately, she could feel her head pounding from the impact. She rubbed her forehead gingerly and opened her eyes, noticing her bag a few feet away, but just as she crawled over to it, she heard somebody groaning. Looking over, she saw that somebody lying on the floor begin to stir. _Oh, please be all right, please be all right…_ she thought, scrambling over to the poor person.

As soon as she looked at his face, however, her pace paled and she let out a strangled cry. There he was, the guy she was trying to get to forgive her, and she had left him sprawled out across the floor like the chalk drawing of a homicide victim. He ran his hand over his face and growled.

"Oh my god, Ron…are you all right? Oh god, I'm so sorry, I was trying to get to the common room, to get my Transfiguration books, because I just woke up practically ten minutes ago, and I was so late, but I guess I was in such a hurry that--"

"Hermione, did it completely escape your mind during all this that today is Saturday?" he asked slightly annoyed, rubbing his eyes and propping himself up onto his elbows. 

She stared at him like a deer in headlights.

"Oh, I suppose that that er, slipped my mind…" she said, wondering when it was that she began losing her marbles. "Oh Ron, I'm so sorry, let me help you up," she said, getting to her feet and offering Ron her hand. It was then that she noticed another victim on the floor.

"Harry? What on earth are you doing down there?" she asked, dumbfounded.

"Oh, that's right…I was walking with Harry to breakfast…I guess the force of you knocked us both down," Ron said with an awkward grin. Harry rolled over onto his stomach with a moan.

"Oh, thanks a lot Ron, I'm glad you thought of me," he groaned. "And holy crickets, Hermione, slow down, you might actually kill somebody running like that," he said, clutching his side as he stood up. 

Hermione smiled sheepishly, not quite sure what to say. She picked up her bag off the floor and looked around for a clue as to what to do next. Harry looked at Ron expectantly, thinking he was going to head off down the stairs, but Ron just stood there, still. (a/n: as in stood still, not he was still there) Hermione took this as her hint, and with a meek wave, she began walking back to the common room.

"Well, I'll see you--"

"Hermione, aren't you hungry?" Ron asked curiously. Hermione spun around.

"Hmm?" she asked, wanting to hear him say her name again.

"Well, I mean, it seems like you haven't eaten in ages, Mione, you're always in the library…"

There it was again! Hermione blushed. _Well, actually, it's amazing how friendly the house elves in the kitchens can be when you promise to stop trying to free them…_she thought, wondering how Ron would act if he knew.

"Why don't you come with us? I'm sure it'll be a pleasant scene change from the piles and piles of books, and it'll be nice for people to actually see you alive these days, conversing normally with real people…what do you say?" he asked, one of his famous lopsided smiles across his face. 

A few minutes later, Hermione found herself in a very strange position: other Gryffindors, ones she had completely forgotten about, were talking to her, and she was sitting with her best friends, both of them, wait, all of them, something which hadn't happened since last year. She was feeling…wait, what was the word? Happy? Yeah, that was it. She felt happy. And it was great.

Harry was also happy. It wasn't everyday that your two best friends who fought, dated, broke up, and hated each other became friends again, on their own no less. Above all things, he was feeling proud. Hey, they figured it out on their own for once, and that was something to be proud of, right? Right.

Later that night, after dinner, Hermione took off for the library again; it was hard to break habits. But as soon as she started walking down the corridors, she felt like she was being watched. She turned around, but no one was there. _Strange,_ she though, but continued on her way. Then, as she was going down the stairs, she thought she felt it again, but still, no one was there when she turned around. _Okay then…_ she thought as she continued. Three more times she turned around, but alas, her curious eyes were met with the empty corridors behind her. Reaching her destination calmed her nerves a little though. But then, as she turned the door handle, she felt something tug at her arm, and all of a sudden she was up in the air. 

"What the—Ron? What are you doing?" she asked, bewildered. She was quite relieved though that it hadn't been someone else watching her.

"Hermione, have I ever told you that you spend too much time in the library?" he asked, carrying her over his shoulder and taking her upstairs. She beat his back weakly with her fists, not really wanting him to let go, but putting up a fight all the same. It was a little undignified, a Head Girl being carried upside down all around the castle, but she let go of her worries and got swept away in Ron's arms.

He didn't put her down until he reached his final destination--namely, the cushiest couch in the common room—and hid her backpack so she wouldn't have any way of trying to do any homework.

"Mione, it's Saturday, you know that's what Sunday nights were made for! Just relax, all right? No homework, no Head Girl duties…just sitting and relaxing in the common room for you tonight. All right?"

She giggled and felt more than obligated to follow his suggestion.

Not like she had a choice.

Harry and Ginny were more than delighted at the prospect of being in the company of Ron and Hermione in the same room. It brought back a good feeling of completion in the group. The time the spent in the common room together that night was the best time any of them had had in a long time…Ginny, as well as the other Gryffindors, could only hope it wouldn't fall apart again.

A few hours later, Harry and Ginny were lying asleep on a couch in front of the fire, a book open across their laps. Ron was destroying Hermione in a ruthless game of chess, the fifth of the evening. Both had remained silent the entire time, Ron out of concentration and Hermione out of uncertainty of what to say. Occasionally, he would make a sound of victory, and she would groan miserably, but other than that, there was a strong lack of conversation. Until…

"So, Hermione, how does it feel to lose five times? In a row, no less," he asked with a sly grin. Hermione hit him on the shoulder.

"You know, I don't see why you subject me to this kind of torture, Ronald Weasley. You would think you'd be a little courteous and give me half a chance once in a while," she responded just as coyly. 

"Oh, so you think you want a chance, eh? And what is it exactly that gives you the impression that you deserve another chance?" he asked, cursing himself as her realized what he just said. (he had meant to say 'a', not 'another'). He flinched slightly as Hermione's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Ooh, you know what Ron, I never would have even tried to make this work if I knew you were going to act like that," she growled fiercely, standing up and making to leave. "…I should have known you would rub it in like that, I--"

"Hermione, stop it right now. You know damn well that our friendship means the world to me, so don't think you're going to make me believe I'm being a bad guy, all right?" he said sharply. Hermione bit her tongue immediately. _Oops…well, I feel a bit foolish…_she thought as Ron looked crossly at the chessboard.

A moment of silence passed as Hermione looked away awkwardly, _What to say, what to say…_passing through her head. She sank back slowly into her chair, self-consciously folding her hands in her lap and scrunching up her toes with a little nervous sigh. Finally, she looked up at him. He was fiddling with the bishop, rolling it between his fingers and watching it interestedly. A small smile played across her lips as he pretended to be enthralled by the simple black chess piece in his hand. She slowly reached over and took it from him, causing Ron to look up at her. 

"Ron, I'm sorry about what I said, I just…it's hard," she said, and somehow, he understood. They sat there quietly, Hermione now rolling the bishop in her hands as Ron watched out of the corner of his eye. 

"Well, I think I'll be going to bed then…I'll see you in the morning?" Hermione asked, placing the chess piece back in its place and picking her sweater up from her chair as she stood up. 

"Yeah, see you in the morning then. Goodnight," he answered, smiling up at her. Out of impulse, she leaned over and gently wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a hug, and he closed his eyes, taking in the startlingly familiar scent that floated around her…he knew that smell, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it… Pulling back, she playfully ran her hands through his hair and chuckled, looking down at the now quite disheveled results her hands had left behind.

"So we're friends again?" she asked sweetly, but still feeling a little nervous.

"Do you really have to ask, Mione?" he asked, opening his eyes and looking up at her. "Yes, we're friends again. Best friends," he smiled.

"Good. I missed you, you know," she said, and with that, she retreated to the staircase to her dorm. Before he could respond though, she had made her way up the stairs, walked through the door, and closed it behind her quietly. He watched the door for a few moments, half expecting her to walk back out, but soon realized that that was ridiculous. He turned back around and picked up the bishop, that familiar scent still eating away at his brain. _How can I still feel that way? It didn't work the first time, so what the hell am I thinking?_ Ron nearly glared at the bishop in his hand, blaming it for all of his love problems, but thankfully realized soon enough that the chance of love couldn't possibly rest in a simple chess piece. Ron sat down in the comfiest chair by the fire and watched the flames flicker restlessly. The rest of the night, Ron sat in that chair, frustratingly trying to convince himself that whatever he and Hermione had had was over now, and that was that.

But a tiny voice inside him told him he wouldn't be able to leave it at that.

Okay guys, you know you love me, so please please please review! Thanks!!


	6. A Very Unexpected Return

A/N: Hey all! Here's the next chapter…I hope it doesn't anger you too much…lol. Anyway, I just wanted to add that yes, Harry and Ginny are indeed a couple, as they should be! And a very cute couple at that, may I just add…Okay! Enjoy, you guys! It's extra long for you guys, I couldn't help it…it just happened that way. And make sure to review!

Lauren

Disclaimer: Me am not J.K.! Me too simple minded!

Chapter Six

A Very Unexpected Return

It was the middle of Transfiguration that Professor McGonagall announced the upcoming Hogsmeade trip that weekend. Being the first trip of the year, it was guaranteed to be quite a fun one, especially since it would be a chance for the trio (and Ginny) to spend some time together without having to think about school. For the next five days, all Ron and Harry could think about was getting out of the castle surrounding, so when the time came to set out, they could barely contain themselves.

Hermione and Ginny were sitting in the common room talking when Harry and Ron finally made their way down the dormitory stairs. With four wide, excited smiles, the four of them grabbed their cloaks and headed out the portrait hole and into the corridor. The air was thick with excitement from Gryffindors all around as they headed through the doors and into the wide open space.

The four excited Gryffindors walked side by side, Ginny's fingers perfectly entwined with Harry's, and Ron talking nonstop about the upcoming Quidditch game, the first of the season. Hermione, the only one of the four not on the team (Ginny had indeed taken over one of the chaser positions, as she had hoped) felt slightly left out from the conversation as a whole, but that didn't really have a chance to get to her, as she was deep in thought. Standing at the end of the line, she couldn't help as her eyes kept falling on the joined hands and happily twiddling fingers of two people enamored of each other. Of course, this only reminded her of the fact that Ron had never really liked to hold her hand when they had been together. She tucked this thought to the back of her head with the strand of hair she placed behind her ear and tried to be attentive to Ron's rambling.

Finally, Filch checked them out, grouchily of course, and a nice breeze of cool air washed over them. The rest of the walk there seemed very quiet to Ron, which was odd because he was talking nonstop. However, his mind was drifting to other things… he kept getting distracted by things Hermione was doing. Like, every minute or so, the same piece of hair would fall in front of her face, and every time she tucked it back behind her ears, he could see the tiniest bit of frustration flush pink across her cheeks, though she was most likely unaware of it occurring in the first place. She was probably also unaware of the slight pursing of her lips as she did this. This only reminded him of the fact that, by some odd coincidence, he had never gotten the chance to kiss Hermione when they were together. Strange, yes, for someone to be with a person for six months and never actually get up the courage to kiss them. Sure, there were innocent kisses on the cheek that came from Hermione every so often, but it seemed for the most part to be an overall awkward topic. Just as some things happen, some things, well…don't. This thought haunted both of them, though Ron found it did him even more so at this particular moment. Then, realizing what it was he was thinking about, he kicked himself mentally and carried on with his talk of Quidditch, wondering what could possibly lead him to believe that he would ever get the chance to do such a thing.

Ron was glad to finally enter Hogsmeade, so he would have more to distract him. He nearly dragged the rest of them to a building that, had he not pointed it out, would have seemed hidden between the two larger buildings around it. As soon as they entered, something jumped out of the corner and tackled Ron to the floor. Had the others not known better, they would have been scared out of their minds, but instead they were driven to immediate laughter. After a moment of frustrated noises, Ron finally emerged from the pile of Weasleys on the floor and brushed himself off, leaving the perpetrator on the floor.

"We thought you'd never come and see us!" said one of them, and it became clear that there were indeed two perpetrators. 

"Yeah, we were beginning to think you had forgotten all about us! But you wouldn't do that, would you Ronniekins??" said the other, grabbing Ron's leg and causing him to fall to the floor again. Ron, realizing he was falling, grabbed a hold of whatever was closest to him, and so grabbed a handful of Harry's pants. Inevitably, Harry and Ginny joined the pile of Weasleys, leaving Hermione to clean up the mess, in her own fit of giggles.

Both Fred and George had changed considerably, though not in much of an obvious way. Sure, they had gotten slightly taller, but were still noticeably shorter than Ron. Fred's hair was a bit shorter and neater than George's, who had let his grow into a scruffy mop. But both of them still had those unmistakably signature mischievous grins that were useful for both getting them in and out of trouble. What no one could see though was that both of them had done a bit of growing up over the years after Voldemort's return…well, everyone did, really, but the twins had in a more unexpected way. A tiny bit of the wild fire that burned so brightly in their eyes was calmed, almost extinguished…something about them seemed a little more reserved, quieter…well, as much as being Fred and George Weasley, the most famous pranksters in the world, would allow. 

When everybody had straightened up, the foursome noticed all of the empty shelves along the wall, and the counter in the back of the room. Six grins formed all around as Ginny gasped.

"Wait, you're not telling me…" she breathed. Ron stood proudly as though he had himself created the store. (In reality, over the summer they caught Ron eavesdropping on them planning, and was threatened into silence.)

Fred and George nodded proudly, opening their arms to show off the spacious area which would soon be filled by lots and lots of prank items.

"Yes, we were so successful in Diagon Alley that we're opening one here in Hogsmeade…what do you think?" George asked, a grin happily occupying his face.

Hermione, though somewhat concerned by the news of the first on in Diagon Alley, was much more excited about this one. The joke shop had really done what Harry had hoped for when he had given them the prize money: people, in a time of disaster at Voldemort's return, had found some sort of comfort in their products. Speaking of…

"Well wait, where are all the actual products?" she asked, as though it were obvious.

"Oh, they're still in the back, we haven't unloaded them yet. We have to do it before next weekend, that's our grand opening. We'll do it…eventually. Won't we Fred?" George asked, that mischievous smile on his face.

"Oh yes, eventually," he returned with a grin equal to George's. 

Hermione began slowly walking around the room, dragging her fingers along the surfaces of the shelves and taking it all in. Ron watched as her eyes lit up at the very idea of those shelves being full of ingenious pranks created by Fred and George. 

Fred, meanwhile, wasted no time in picking on Harry and Ginny, who were now decidedly the cutest Weasley couple. George looked over at Ron, who was still watching Hermione, and a genuinely sad, sympathetic grin took over his face. 

"Hey uh, Ron, come help me with something in the back, I've got some stuff we want to show you guys," he said, walking over to a door behind the counter.

Ron seemed a little hard-pressed tearing his eyes away from the curiously beautiful brown eyes taking in all of the store, but he resigned and headed to the back of the store with George.

George led him into one of the three storerooms in the back and shut the door behind them after Ron walked in. He walked over to a shelf, lifted one of the several boxes, and placed it into Ron's arms. Just as Ron turned to leave, he was held back by the quiet sound of his brother's voice.

"Do you miss her?" he asked softly, his voice inflected with a bit of sorrow. Ron turned around slowly, looking perplexed, but sighed acceptingly and seeming as though it wasn't completely unexpected. 

"Er…" he said, not sure what to say.

"Look mate, I know a forlorn look when I see one…and you've definitely got one," George said matter-of-factly. Ron wondered when it was exactly that George had learned about love, but didn't ask. He was already seeing more of Ron than Ron had hoped, which could prove to become dangerous…who knew what George was up to.

"Look, it's nothing, there's no 'forlorn look' or anything, so don't worry about it. I'm just…tired, that's all," he said in a way he hoped was convincing. Doubtful of his effectiveness, he promptly added a yawn, hoping he was slightly more convincing. 

"Ron, we know all about what happened, it's not like we didn't happen to be in the same house as you for the whole summer. Well, we almost weren't, especially when mum got furious with us for damaging the roof, when really it wasn't our fault, it was that damn ghoul in the attic, but she was convinced it was one of our experiments, nearly skinned us alive…oops, sorry mate," he quipped, noticing the raised eyebrow on Ron's face. "Anyway, we know all about it, so there's no use hiding it…what's going on with you two now?"

"Er, well, we're friends again. Best friends," he added, realizing the one extra word made him feel both better and worse at once.

"Ah, I see…'best friends', eh? And are you okay with that?" George asked, the smirk on his face balanced by the seriousness in his tone.

"What do you mean? Yeah, of course I'm okay with it, it's far better than us not talking."

"No no, that's not what I meant…do you still fancy her?"

Ron's face turned red as a brick in a second flat before he could help it. Forgetting the box he was holding, he nervously ran his hand through his hair, and with an inevitably loud clatter, the box fell to the floor and popped open, revealing hundreds of smaller, colorful boxes inside. Ron apologized frantically, but looked up to find George laughing. As they began picking up the packages, they heard footsteps coming down the hall.

"Is everything all right?" asked Hermione, peeking her head around the corner of the doorway.

"Oh yeah, everything's fine…Ron thought he saw a spider, freaked out a little bit, but we're all right now," George said, grinning furtively at Ron. Hermione gave a bit of a concerned grin and headed back to the front.

Ron looked up, but before he could thank George, he was interrupted.

"Ron, what are you going to do about it?" he asked, just as seriously as before. Ron couldn't help but be slightly caught off guard by his earnestness…either he had seriously matured, or he was just having a rare moment…very rare.

"D-do about what, exactly?" he asked dumbly. George eyed him suspiciously.

"I'm not doing anything about anything. Even if I did like her, it wouldn't make a difference. She doesn't feel the same way, or else why would she have broken up with me in the first place? And besides, I'm just grateful we're friends again, I don't want to take a dumb chance knowing it'll mess everything up…we've just made up, and I don't want to go through that agony again," he finished, knowing he had made a very good point that George wouldn't be able to rebut. 

Indeed, in lieu of a response, George merely sighed. After replacing the last package, he took the box and placed it firmly back in Ron's arms, looking him in the eyes as he did. The determination and certainty Ron saw in George almost made him yelp. It was nothing like anything he'd seen in his brother before in his life, which told him this was serious.

"As long as you know what you're doing…you think it's bad taking a chance and risking something you think you're willing to settle for, but after a while, you'll come to realize that the real risk is doing nothing at all. Before you know it, something will happen that could ruin a chance of anything ever happening again…but don't take my word for it," he said, more grim than he had ever seen his brother. Everything about how he had said that, and about what he had said, nearly made him shutter. With a reluctant grin, George picked up a box from the shelf and slid past Ron, heading back up to the front and greeting the others. Ron stood against the wall, still holding his box, and trying to grasp what his brother had just told him. He had never considered taking anything his brothers had ever told him to heart, but maybe this time…

After a moment of thinking this over, he returned to the front of the store to see the others unloading boxes and placing the colorful packages on the empty shelves. Setting his box on the counter, he joined in, joining Harry and Fred's conversation about their grand opening. Every so often, Ron would glance over at Hermione, who was smiling and chatting happily with Ginny at another shelf. George seemed to have disappeared somewhere in the back again, but Ron didn't particularly care; he was now feeling slightly annoyed by his earlier interrogation, wondering what had given George the idea he had a right to pry into Ron's love life like that. 

An hour later, the foursome said their farewells to Fred (George still hadn't turned up, but they felt maybe they should let him be) and headed back down the crowded streets of Hogsmeade, each with a little one of the packages in their pockets. Ron could feel the warm September air on his face when he heard a familiar voice call out to Hermione. He whipped around, looking to see who the voice belonged to. Hermione stopped and turned around curiously to see George standing about twenty feet away, waving at her. 

"Hmm, I wonder what he wants?" she said, more to herself than to the others, but loudly enough for them to hear. Without a look to the others, she headed back towards him, Ron wondering silently what he could possibly have to tell Hermione when suddenly he felt as though ice water had been poured over his head. What if he decided to tell Hermione about their conversation? He could feel the tips of his ears burning as though they were on fire, and he wasn't the only one who noticed. 

"Ron, are you all right? Your ears are um, turning pink…" said Ginny, suppressing a giggle. Harry's attention was caught immediately and he nodded in agreement. 

"You know, it's not like he's going to ask her out or anything, don't get all flustered over nothing," she said, making her brother's ears turn, if possible, even more pink. She could almost swear she felt heat radiating from them.

That really hadn't even occurred to Ron to be a possibility. But that's not what he was worried about. If George told…he would have just dug his own grave, that's for sure.

Ten minutes later, Hermione returned, her face looking slightly pink tinged and flushed. Ron turned around right as she went to take her place next to him, which made Hermione frown slightly.

"Ron, you all right?"

"What did he tell you?" he asked, trying his hardest to hide his anger and sound genuinely interested, which wasn't hard, because her really was.

"Oh, he just asked me what I wanted for my birthday. It was rather considerate of him, actually, as I've never gotten him a birthday present before," she responded contemplatively. Had Ron's mind not suspended itself mid-thought, he might have heard her wondering aloud when indeed George's birthday was. But the impact of her previous statement had his mind stupefied: her birthday was in less that a week, and he hadn't even considered what he was to get her. He looked around him in a panicky manner, searching for a store in which to find her something; what exactly the something was would have to be figured out later.

He was still looking when he heard his name from what seemed like fifty feet away.

"Ron? Ron, are you okay? Ron!" 

Ron snapped back around to look at Hermione. 

"It's in April," he said monotonously, not daring to give her the exact date in hopes she would forget.

"Oh, um…alright then," she replied, a little hurt. Something about him seemed rather distant, she thought, considering he had been telling her several times over the past few days about how glad he was they were best friends again. She looked down nervously at the ground, mechanically tucking an imaginary strand of hair behind her ear and pouting subconsciously. Ron looked over at her, feeling bad for being such a prat. It wasn't like she was doing anything wrong, she was just trying to be nice to George for being nice to her. He opened his mouth to apologize when she spoke suddenly.

"You know what, I think I left something back there…you guys go on, I'll meet you in a few minutes," she said, not meeting any of the other's eyes. Before anyone could answer, she had taken off and disappeared into the crowd around them. Ron sighed heavily, and Ginny and Harry exchanged suspicious glances. But as she had instructed, they all kept walking silently. 

They had been walking for only a minute when Ron noticed something in the window of a store they were passing. He stopped roughly, causing a woman behind him to run right into him. He chose to ignore her as she cursed him and instead walked inside the store, accidentally bumping the poor woman again. 

Harry and Ginny followed, curious as to what he was looking for. He walked straight up to the counter and asked the cashier if he could see the item in the window display. The small, whiskery man nodded, disappearing in the back room. Ron looked around the room at Harry, who with Ginny was now talking to Lavender, Parvati, and two other girls Ron didn't remember the names of. He did recognize them as two Ravenclaws, though. He turned back around as the cashier returned with two packages, one long and rectangular, the other smaller and square. He reached into his pocket and paid the man, taking the small brown bag the two packages had been placed in seconds before. With a smile, he left the counter and walked over to Harry and the others. 

"Hey Lavender, Parvati," he said, nodding at the two Gryffindors, who grinned widely and giggled flirtatiously in response.

"Ron, this is Sarah, she's a Ravenclaw," Parvati said with an eager grin stuck on her face. Ron took her hand in his, and almost instantly, as though he were being possessed, his newly acquired flirtatiousness took over for him. He gave her the once over with the trademark Weasley grin, which nearly made Sarah go weak in the knees. Catching herself, she gave a weak smile and a faint 'hello'.

"And you remember my sister, don't you?" Parvati continued, pointing out the girl to her left, and Ron felt as though he had been hit in the head by something very heavy. _Of course, you great bloody prat, you took her to the Yule Ball!_ He quickly moved his hand from the hand-shaking position and placed it around her shoulder, acting as though she were an old friend. 

"Of course I remember, how could I forget?" he said, giving her a bit of a hug. Padma's look of skepticism was quickly replaced with that of surprise; she seemed clearly at a loss for words at the fact that Ron was nothing like she had remembered…he actually knew how to talk to a lady, which was something she had never thought possible after the Yule Ball incident.

Ginny looked on sickeningly as her brother managed to compliment the four girls nonstop for who knows how long before she decided she had had enough. She cleared her throat loudly, causing the rest to fall silent.

"Well, it was very nice talking to all of you, but I just remembered I have a few errands to run before we have to head back, so I think I'm just going to head out now. I'll see you all later then?" she asked sweetly, trying her hardest not to spew the contents of her breakfast all over Padma's new sweater. Harry thanked her telepathically (or tried at least) and volunteered to go with her. Ginny gave him a grateful smile, and the two waved goodbye and left rather hurriedly, or so it seemed that way to Ron. Lavender, prompted by the couple's departure, looked at her watch and nearly shrieked. 

"Parvati, we have to get down to Madam Malkin's before she closes if we're going to get fitted for our gowns!" she said, grabbing Parvati's wrist and nearly tripping over herself. 

"It was great talking to you Ron, but we've really got to go—Sarah, are you coming?" she asked pointedly. Sarah's face took on a look of disappointment, probably because of having to leave Ron, whom she had taken quite a liking to, but sighed resignedly before glancing at Padma and nodding. She waved goodbye to Ron, smiled at Padma, and left the store with the other two, leaving Ron and a flushed Padma standing in a quill store.

"Well, that was rather odd, wasn't it?" Ron asked smoothly, and with that he led her out of the store and back onto the slightly less crowded streets of Hogsmeade, his arm still around her shoulder. 

Hermione left Weasley's Wizard Wheezes feeling very, very enlightened. She had gone back, almost sure that she had left her package on the counter, and so had gone back to retrieve it. But as she had planned on leaving shortly thereafter, she had found herself engaged in a very interesting conversation with George, who convinced her he had some very interesting things to tell her. And sure enough, an hour after she had came, she left, feeling quite flushed and excited. She could feel the warm air around her and felt as though she were on a cloud. _So Ron really does miss me…I should have known…what should I say? Should I tell him straight out? No no, I'd never be able to pull that off…_ She walked nearly the length of Hogsmeade pondering this when something before her about ten feet away caught her eye. She heard a voice, another, and then a laugh; she looked over and saw no other than Ron and…who was that? Hermione couldn't exactly tell, though she strained her eyes to get a better look…she gasped so loudly she nearly choked. 

"Padma??" she asked no one in particular. She could feel her cheeks grow red as passersby looked at her curiously. Luckily, neither Ron or Padma heard or noticed; she could feel her heart racing and her cheeks getting hot; not out of anger, but out of shock and hurt. She immediately spun around on her heel, taking off in the other direction as quickly as possible, Ron and Padma still in their place, laughing heartily.

Ten minutes later…

"GEORGE WEASLEY, YOU LIAR!"

George walked into the front room hesitantly, as though expecting a Howler from his mother, and was instead faced with a tear-streaked Hermione Granger, and all he could do was stare back at her, confused. 

Please review!!!


	7. Well Gee, It's Only Pain

A/N: Hey guys! Here's chapter seven for you all! I know the last chapter was kinda sad, but this one's only worse…I know, I know, I'm cruel…but sunshine comes after rain, right? So read, enjoy, and review! And thanks to all of you who just started reading my story, I know Heather put in a good word for me (for which I am very grateful!!! Thanks Heather!!) So I hope you all like this!

Lauren

Disclaimer: Me no know no JK…

Chapter Seven

Well Gee, It's Only Pain…

Hermione walked back the entire trip from Hogsmeade by her lonely, brokenhearted self. She had, for a half second, considered finding Harry and Ginny to walk back with, but quickly decided against it; she was feeling far too surly to be in the company of lovebirds…She felt like being alone, so she could figure out the jumbled chaos that was her brain. She wasn't sure what exactly she had been thinking, imagining Ron still having feelings for her after all this time, after all that mess…

She dragged her feet defiantly across the lush Hogwarts grass, wanting to both see and avoid Ron at the same time. She hadn't stayed around to see him (and probably Padma) depart from Hogsmeade, and thus had no idea where they were now…not that she cared. Part of her was filled with anger, though more at herself for believing that there was the slightest chance they could be together again than at George or Ron. Besides, George had only been trying to help…which was rather odd in itself, Hermione noted. When had George become such an expert on matters of the heart? she wondered. She hadn't asked him when they had been talking, she didn't think it polite, but it didn't keep her from wondering.

The closer she got to approaching the front doors of the castle, the more she could feel tears pressing against the corners of her eyes, threatening to fall, but she was determined not to cry. If there was one thing she hated, it was crying…showing weaknesses was not something she was apt to do, and if she was to cry, people around her would only ask her what was wrong, and this was something she didn't feel like sharing with anyone, particularly Harry or Ron. And if she told Ginny…there was no way it wouldn't get back to Ron, which would only lead to embarrassment and vulnerability, neither of which she would appreciate at the moment, or at any time really. No, this was definitely not something she would be sharing with anyone any time soon.

She walked up the steps to the entrance hall, fingers gripping the sides of her skirt and breath slightly harsh, but her face showing no signs of anguish. She was about to take her usual, automatic turn for the library when she found her feet were leading her elsewhere. She was too tired and upset to protest, so she let herself wander up the several flights of stairs her feet happened to be dragging her up. Finally, she seemed to have reached her destination, as she muttered the password to no one in particular and stepped inside quietly, receiving a sympathetic look from the Fat Lady. 

When she walked in, she saw Harry sitting alone in front of the fire. Confused, she walked over to the chair next to his and sank down into it, letting out a heavy sigh.

"Hey Hermione," he said nonchalantly, only half-looking up from his Astronomy assignment and therefore not noticing the sullen expression on her face.

"Hey Harry," she said, and her tone told Harry something was wrong. He looked up into her face and was stricken with the previous events of the day, only then realizing that she must have witnessed the two as well.

"Oh, Herm…I don't think I'd worry too much about it, really, like I told you before, he's just being--"

"Careful, I know, I know…not that anything is wrong with that of course, I mean, moving into new relationships, it's always smart to be careful, don't you think? Think of what happened last time with her; he almost ruined her night at the Yule Ball, remember? So yes, I think it's wise for him to be careful at this point, very wise," she said with an almost scientific note in her voice, as though she were studying Ron in a relationship experiment. Harry looked at her, befuddled, but quickly caught on.

"Herm, I know what you're doing, but I know how you fee--"

"Harry, I think Ron going after Padma is wonderful, I don't know what gave you the idea that I felt otherwise…as for you knowing how I feel…well, never mind. I think I'm going to bed now, I'll see you in the morning?" she said, feigning a yawn and standing up. Harry glanced at her sadly; there was no telling Hermione, she was nearly as stubborn as Mrs. Weasley. So he gave her an agreeing smile and nod, and after Hermione returned the grin, she headed up the stairs to the girls' dorms. 

Harry sighed and went back to his Astronomy homework, but after a moment found that it was no use, he couldn't concentrate any more. _Dammit, if only Ron wasn't such a bloody prat!_

Hermione plopped herself on her bed and reached underneath it, pulling out her bag. She placed it in her lap and from it retrieved her Arithmancy book, dropping the bag back onto the floor and propping the book open across her lap. She was just delving into her reading assignment when she heard a light tapping on the window; she looked over and saw a beautiful light gray and white speckled owl hovering above the windowsill. She crawled over to the window, opening it and letting in the elegant bird, which surprisingly landed on her bed. Thinking it was quite odd for Viktor to be writing her still, she took the letter kindly from the owl and slipped her finger under the seal. But what she saw was not a letter from Viktor…

_Dear Hermione,_

_I just wanted to say that I'm so incredibly sorry about what happened today…I had no idea my brother was such a prat. I mean, of course I knew, I've known all along, after all, he's my brother, but I never thought it would escalate to such a disturbingly horrid degree. If it makes you feel any better, well actually I can't really think of anything that could make you feel better at the moment, but when I do, I'll be sure to let you know. _

She chuckled at this, imagining George literally sitting down to write to her the instant he came up with something.

Anyway, let me know when your next Hogsmeade trip is so I can give you your present…but if it's not any time soon, I suppose I could send it by owl, though that may prove to be difficult. Send Harry and Ginny my best, and while you're at it, could you slap Ron for me or something equally punishing? It may just make you feel better. And anyway, it won't take Ron long to realize what a jerk he is and snap out of it. Until then, hang in there. 

_ Yours truly, _

_ George_

With a small smile, she folded the letter back up and slipped in into the back of her Arithmancy book. She reached over her bed for her bag, pulled out some parchment and a quill, and settled herself into the chair by her night table. With a thoughtful sigh, she pressed the quill to the parchment and began to write.

_Dear George,_

_ Thank you so much for your letter. You know well that I don't blame you whatsoever for what happened, so don't be sorry. It was really no one's fault, it just happened that way, so please don't feel bad. And I eagerly await whatever it is that you will soon think up to make me feel better. Anyway, the next Hogsmeade date is in about four weeks, but I'm not exactly sure. I'll send you another owl naming the exact date as sure as I know it. And thank you again so much for the present; you really didn't have to get me one, you know! Well, I hope all is well with the preparations for next weekend with your grand opening. Let me know how it goes!_

_ Yours truly,_

Hermione 

She read over the letter once more, checking for any errors, and folded it up, gently tying it to the owl that had just been nestling comfortably on the end of her bed. She took it to the window, and with a soft twitch of her arm, sent it out into the darkening sky, too busy watching the sun setting to notice the very subject of her letter sitting down in the grass below her.

Ron was plucking aggressively at the grass in front of him, cursing himself for being such a jerk, and at the same time convincing himself that it was the right thing to do. In the first place, he had no idea Hermione was the one upset; he was only aware that Sarah had given him odd looks at dinner, and so had Ginny. He had noted how uncannily identical their looks had been, but more shocked at receiving them from someone other than his sister or his best friends. He could understand why Sarah had been mad, which is why he was cursing himself for being a jerk to begin with. Yes, it's true, he was addicted to flirting, and today he had been ostentatiously flirtatious with Padma. It really hadn't been that hard, it wasn't like she was unattractive, but it seemed now that that was the problem. He didn't even like her, he barely knew her for heaven's sake, but just as he had seen her smile that sweet smile, the little switch inside him marked 'Weasley charm' just flicked itself on without warning. If only he could learn how to turn that damn thing off…

But he knew it was for the best. Hermione had broken up with him, and that told him clearly that there was nothing more she felt for him than friendship. It was taking a lot of work, convincing himself to drop his feelings for her, but the fact that they had failed once seemed to instill upon him the reality that trying again would only bring about the same results. Frustrated, he pulled another handful of grass from the ground and threw them a few feet in front of him. He looked up to see the last of the sun descend behind the mountains and sighed, telling himself to return to the common room but not listening. He knew just seeing her face would spark feelings he didn't want sparked, so he remained in the grass until the sky became completely dark, and he realized the air had grown cold and unwelcoming. 

The next morning, the only person surprised by Hermione's absence at the breakfast table was Ron, who was almost sure he had helped her change her ways. But as he learned he in fact hadn't, he sighed disappointedly and began eating his toast. He was thinking about what it was Hermione was doing instead when he noticed someone waving at him in the distance. When his eyes focused, he could see it was none other than Padma, who, conveniently enough, was sitting right next to the glaring Sarah. Smiling uncomfortably, he reluctantly waved back, feeling an awful burning sensation in the pit of his stomach. _What the bloody hell have I gotten myself into??_

Upstairs, Hermione was writing frantically, working nonstop on a Muggle Studies essay she knew wasn't due for another week, but was the only thing she could do to keep herself busy. If she needed to, she would go to the library and check out a slew of books, just so she would have something to keep her constantly occupied. Of course, half of these books would no doubt be used to help her study for her N.E.W.T.s, but that wasn't the point…

Some time later, she looked up as she heard the portrait hole swing open and did all she could not to blush as she saw Ron enter and take a seat next to her. Instead, she began writing at the speed of a tornado, giving Ron the impression that she really did not want to talk to him. He looked at his hands and sat quietly, nervous about speaking, but after a while the silence greatly annoyed Hermione.

"Ron, what is it?" she asked huffily. The sudden presence of her voice made him jump uneasily.

"What? Oh, nothing, I was just wondering why you didn't come to breakfast, but I suppose I can see why now…why eat when you can work on a—what is that?—oh, a Muggle studies essay?" he asked with a shy smile. 

"Well, you know me, I'm just trying to get it out of the way…N.E.W.T.s are coming soon you know, it's never too early to start studying…"

Ron chuckled, and for the split second Hermione chuckled back, she realized she had let her guard down. Struggling to pull it back up, she touched on a different subject, one that made her uneasy, but one that would make her look supportive. He was, of course, her best friend, why shouldn't she be?

"So Ron, how's Padma?" she asked, producing a smile so fake it looked real; this startled Ron.

"Padma? What about her?"

"Oh Ron, I saw you two yesterday, it was so cute! I think it's sweet that you two have made up, what after the Yule Ball and everything…so, do you like her?" Those last four words made fire flicker up into her throat, but she maintained a calm that surprised even her.

"Like her? Mione, I barely know her, I've just started talking to her yesterday, so…she seems very nice though," he finished, not sure what he was saying.

"Well, if I may say so myself, I think you two looked so sweet together, what with your arm around her…it wouldn't be too hard doing that everyday, would it? Not with her, she's definitely pretty, Ron," she said, the fire growing hotter and more fierce as she refused to look up from her paper. 

"What? What are you saying?" he asked, now utterly confused by her words.

"Well, isn't it obvious? I'm saying you should get to know her better…I think you'd make a nice couple," she said, keeping herself from nearly breathing the fire that was now almost unbearable. Her hand was writing with such incredible speed that the tip of her quill was close to ripping the parchment. Ron gulped…there was no denying it now, she had just confirmed his very qualm…

"Oh, really? Well um, maybe I will then…you really think so?" he asked, attempting to look gladdened by the news. 

"Yeah, really. She's smart, pretty, and by what you've said, she's nice…what's not to like?" _Sounds like you, _he thought. "And I'm sure her liking you won't be a problem, it doesn't take much to fall for you…that is, if she hasn't already," she added quickly, covering up what she had just mistakenly slip. She thought she had seen Ron's eyes flicker for a moment at her previous words, but she felt her stomach drop disappointedly as she realized that it was only because of what she had said after. 

"Well, since you put it that way, I think I'll go see her now," he said, putting on a smile as he stood up. "Thanks 'Mione!" And with that, he walked through the portrait hole and out into the corridors.

Hermione felt her heart sink lower than she ever thought imaginable at the realization of what she had just done, but she was determined not to care. With fierce resolution, she immersed herself into the paper in front of her, not bothering to remove the stray tear sliding freely down her cheek.

Ron walked down the several flights of stairs to the library quite frustrated indeed. He knew now for certain that she felt nothing for him as he did for her. But all of that was about to change…

It was no coincidence that it happened to be Padma he ran into on his way to the library, and it wasn't the library he had come from late that night when he plopped himself on a chair in front of the fire at two in the morning either…

Review! Please? I know, that chapter was hard for me to write…but if you want to see what happens, you've got to review!!!


	8. The Trouble with Raspberry Scones

A/N: Hey guys. I want to thank all of you who reviewed last chapter, because it was really awesome and it made me feel all warm inside. You guys rock! Keep 'em coming! 

Speaking of, I wanted to write a special little note to a particular new reader of mine, who wrote anonymously under the name of 'Jen':

Though your review seriously irritated me, I do agree with you. You're right, in this particular story Ron really shouldn't be made out as a prat, because it was Hermione who broke his heart, and not the other way around. It's just that, when you read the books, he usually is the fall guy/comic relief/overall jerk/clueless one, and though through the circumstances I've created in the story Ron really isn't a jerk, the circumstances of the books somewhat blinded that aspect of me writing my story. I'm glad that someone pointed this out to me, because I always appreciate advice and honesty, especially when it is a very good point being made, but there's a difference between constructive criticism and just being an ass, which is basically what you were when you wrote that review. (You might even say you made yourself look like…a prat!!) I really would have been just as willing (or even more so) to take your advice and reshape the way I write this story if you had found a constructive, positive way to tell me. But when you start your review by telling me how sick you are of things in my story and how unoriginal I am, it's really not going to make me respond well to whatever it is you have to say, whether it's helpful advice or not. And even though you were referring to a particular aspect of the story, the way you said it only makes me assume you feel that way towards me, being the author. So next time you have a qualm about something, or some advice, say it so that whoever it is doesn't feel insulted, and maybe you'll get better feedback. Telling me you're eagerly awaiting the next chapter, but you have the feeling it won't be any different isn't really going to make me respond kindly. But in the end, I thank you. Thank you for your feedback, because I can now say that in this chapter, I've greatly lessened the extent to which Ron is a prat. I hope next time you can figure out a way to get your point across without making me feel bad and without making yourself seem like a jerk, when I'm sure you probably actually are a rather nice person.

PHEW! I feel like 20 pounds has been lifted off my chest! And now we carry on!

For one more question I encountered: Not all of the chapters are flashbacks. The first section of the second chapter is a flashback, the first three paragraphs of chapter three are one flashback, and pretty much all of chapters five and six are flashbacks. Chapter seven is not. And this one is not either. Sorry for the confusion, I hope that helps!!

And with that, we proceed to the disclaimer. (yay…)

Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Harry Potter, you prats! (lol, just thought that since Ron's not that much of a prat in this one, I'd make up for it here.)

OMG, it's chapter time! Thanks for putting up with that long A/N, to make up for it, I'll write an extra long chapter. (In which Ron is not a bad guy!)

Chapter Eight 

The Trouble Concerning Raspberry Scones

Every day for the next week, Hermione insisted on convincing Ron that he and Padma really were a cute couple. And with each day, Ron seemed to be buying into it more and more. She kept telling him how smart and pretty and wonderful she was, and Ron figured that if he couldn't have her, Padma seemed (by the description) to come in a somewhat close second. And that was better than nothing, right?

He had been coming back to the common room so late because of walks he had been taking with Padma around the grounds. At first, they had been nothing more than awkward, neither knowing what exactly to say, but over time the both of them opened up a bit, and the conversations became a bit more intimate. They got to know each other much, much better. Or, to be correct, Padma learned quite a bit about Ron. Ron didn't really bother to learn anything about her, because every time she mentioned something about herself, it would somehow remind him of Hermione, so he was only remembering things concerning her instead of learning about Padma. But Padma didn't say anything: she was either too dumb or too blinded to notice.

When it came down to it, Padma and Hermione did (unexpectedly) have quite a bit in common. Padma was no Lavender; she was quite good in all of her subjects, and she spent an appropriate amount of time studying. But she was much more self-aware than Hermione; she was constantly running off to fix her hair or put on makeup or anything else that would fix her appearance, and every chance she got, she would subtly pose, pursing her lips ever-so-slightly or twirling her hair around her fingers. These qualities would have been much more endearing if they weren't so obviously and overtly intended. Though this bothered Ron to an extent, he accepted it as what Padma was: constantly hoping and searching for attention. 

Hermione could feel herself separating from Ron, but at the moment, she neither worried nor cared. She was happy that this time, she wasn't the one Ron was interested in, only because now she couldn't hurt him any more. Maybe Padma would turn out to be the one, the perfect girl for him, and then she also wouldn't have to be left wondering about it; she would be able to move on properly without wondering what could have been. Besides, she was too busy getting everything done to be concerned then. She had begun studying for their N.E.W.T.s, on top of several essays she now had due (most were from her extra classes), on top of her Head Girl duties, on top of tutoring a fifth year girl in Arithmancy, which she had just recently agreed to after witnessing the girl break down in tears after a particularly difficult class. In short, her plate was so full that she was on the verge of self-destruction. And of course, it was useless attempting to point this out to her, for she wouldn't hear of it.

One morning, at the breakfast table, Harry noticed that it was the ninth consecutive morning that Hermione hadn't eaten breakfast, and grew quite worried. He turned to Ginny, who was busy helping herself to some plum pudding. 

"Ginny, do you find it a bit strange that Hermione hasn't eaten breakfast for the past, er…week?" he asked, counting out the days on his fingers. Ginny didn't turn to look at him, or for that matter, didn't seemed shocked at all. Instead, she kept spooning out the thick bread onto her plate and smiled serenely.

"No, I don't Harry, not at all. She hasn't not been eating, she just hasn't been coming down to breakfast, that's all."

"Um, okay then…" Harry said, looking at her confusedly, but after a moment, returned to his plate. He looked over at Ron, who didn't look at all happy. He was about to ask him what the matter was when he heard a swooshing noise above him. He looked up, saw the mail owls flying overhead; after only a second, one came flying at him, landing roughly onto Harry's plate. The owl rolled over a bit, got back to his feet, and stuck out his leg queasily, looking as though he was about to fall over again. Harry took off the letter, and the owl took of before Harry could offer him something from his presently feather-covered plate. Pushing said plate away, he pulled open the letter, which was addressed not solely to himself, but to Ginny and Ron as well. He read aloud:

_Dear Ginny, Ron, and Harry,_

_ Hello! Fred here, just writing to tell you about a couple things. Firstly, the grand opening went splendidly, we were so crowded that there was a line around the corner for blocks! It was spectacular, you should have seen it, every kid in London and his parents were there! I was also writing to let you know that George and I are planning a little party for Hermione, it being her birthday soon and all. George gathered from Hermione a few days ago that the next Hogsmeade trip is in about two weeks, is that right? If so, you should plan to come a little early, so we'll have time before we open, which is at two on Saturdays. George has done some really great planning, if I may say so myself. Anyway, don't tell Hermione about it, we'd like it to be somewhat of a surprise, all right? Well, we will see you soon. If there're any problems, write back and let us know! _

_ With lots of love,_

_ Fred_

Harry folded up the letter and handed it to Ron, who looked a bit confused, thinking Ron would like to have a look himself. But Ron wasn't confused about the plan, he had surely understood that part perfectly…when had Hermione told George about the next Hogsmeade visit? They hadn't known about it until only a few days ago, but that was after they had last been…Well, he didn't have much time to linger on these thoughts as it grew closer to Potions. He stood up with the others and headed back up to the common room to gather their things and head for class. 

Ron noticed throughout the day, first in Potions, that Hermione looked extremely tired and worn out. For a fleeting moment, he felt scared for her, for her well-being, but didn't point this out as she would have surely taken it as an insult and then would have proceeded with ignoring him for the rest of the day, and they didn't really talk as much any more as it was. He was usually off with Padma, roaming the campus, while she was, of course, in the library/roaming the halls before bed/tutoring the poor fifth year girl, etc, etc. In fact, the more Ron thought about it, the more he realized that they hadn't had a real conversation in what felt like forever. Every time he'd go to ask her something, like how she was or why it was she refused to come downstairs for breakfast, she would always speak first and bring up Padma. He had no idea why Hermione was so set on constantly talking about her, in fact it was almost driving him mad. If he wanted to talk about Padma, he'd bloody well go talk to her in person! It seemed damn near impossible trying to get in a normal talk with her these days, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out why…

So he found himself spending more and more time with Padma. He would look worriedly at Hermione, as though he were looking to see if she had suddenly had a change of heart, but she would only mention how sweet they were together. What was he supposed to do? It was like she was implanting inside his head, brainwashing him with it, and soon enough, there he was, believing it. 

One night, he was walking across the grass with Padma, enjoying the moonlight and taking in the cool air and hearing only the grass under their feet as they walked in silence, when she suddenly turned to him, looking into his eyes with a mystic look on her face. He turned to look at her.

"Ron, do you like me?" she asked, without a hint of red in her cheeks. Ron gulped so hard he nearly hurt his throat, and looked at the ground.

"Erm. Well, um…" he started, not quite able to finish. But Padma didn't seem bothered by this; on the contrary, a smile formed on her lips and she nearly laughed. 

"Ron, if it makes it any easier, I like you. In fact, I like you a lot. I never really thought I'd say that, after fourth year and everything, but having spent all this time with you, I realize what a great time I have with you. I know that must sound a little strange, we've only been talking for two weeks, but…"

Ron looked up at her again, this time into her eyes. She seemed serious, as far as he could tell, and the longer he looked, the clearer it became that he wouldn't be able to refuse something like that. He cleared his throat unconfidently and twiddled his fingers as his ears went unnoticeably pink in the dark.

"Well, um, Padma, I uh, like you too," he said, attempting to overlook the slight crack in his voice.

"Well, it's settled then. Would you be my boyfriend?" 

At midnight, Neville heard the portrait hole swing open and sighed, relieved, when he saw it was a tall, redheaded seventh year walk in. 

"Ron, there you are! Harry and Ginny were looking everywhere for you!" Neville proclaimed, overlooking the weary expression on Ron's face. 

"Why, is something wrong?"

"Well, a bit earlier, I'd say about nine or so, Hermione got a wickedly splitting headache in the library and got up to find some aspirin in her bag and some water, but before she could make it to the other table, where she'd left her bag, she had fainted onto the floor! Dean and Seamus got her to her feet and carried her up to the hospital ward, and they saw Harry and Ginny on the way there…they tried to find you, but couldn't think of where else you'd be…they're up there now, if you'd like to see them." 

Ron didn't need telling twice. He took off for the hospital ward in a flash. Running up the several flights of steps didn't seem like much of a challenge when it was Hermione's health in question. The stitch in his side that popped up on around the fourth flight was nothing that would stop him. He made it on the sixth landing, stopped for a millisecond to catch his breath, and took off down the hall until he reached the white door. Finally feeling the aftermath of his running for the first time, he stopped to breathe properly before flinging the door open wildly and looking inside.

To his left he saw Hermione lying on the hospital bed in the corner. Ignoring the shocked Madame Pomfrey, who was now practically on the floor, he rushed over and sat in an empty chair a couple feet away from her bed. Already there were Harry and Ginny, both asleep in chairs against the wall. Hermione's head was resting on her shoulder, and mouth was in a small smile. He sighed, relieved, and, without even thinking about it, took her hand in his. 

An hour later, Hermione wakened to find her three best friends sleeping around her bed. But what was more surprising than waking up mysteriously in a hospital bed was seeing her hand tightly held in Ron's. She shifted a little in her bed to make herself more comfortable when she saw Ron stir. Hoping he would settle back down, she stopped moving, but it was to no use. He opened his eyes blearily and sat up. 

"'Mione…are you okay? I came to see you, to make sure you were alright," he said, blinking several times before fully opening his eyes.

"Yeah, I think so…although I'm not really sure why I'm here, to be honest," she said, yawning and wondering what to do with her hand…should she leave it there? Does Ron know that he's still holding it? She wasn't really sure.

"Well, apparently you fainted in the library…you had a really bad headache, and when you stood up to find something to take for it, you just, well, fainted."

"Why did I faint? I've never done that before…did something happen?" she asked, concerned. Ron's face took on a slight panic: he didn't want to tell her he hadn't been there when it had happened, because then she would wonder where he had been instead, and that was a whole other can of worms to be opened up another time…

"Er, well…no, nothing happened just then, it must have been from something that's been happening over time that lead up to that point…" he said, having absolutely no idea what he was inferring. But it was obviously something, because a moment later, Hermione's pensive expression turned to shock, and then slight panic.

"Oh…um, that's interesting, isn't it? Hmm…I wonder what that could have been…" 

"Hermione, when is it that you find time to--"

Whatever he was going to ask was immediately shoved back into his head as he heard Ginny mumble something about pie, slowly sitting up and realizing where she was.

"Oh! Ron, you came, we didn't know where to find you!" she exclaimed, which woke Harry. 

"Mmm, Ron, there you are. How long have we been sleeping here?" he asked, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes before replacing them.

"Just a couple of hours, I think, though I don't know how long you had been sleeping when I got here," Ron replied, hoping against hope that no one would ask where he had been.

"Hell, it's three in the morning…" Ginny said, glancing at Harry's watch.

"Oh, you guys should really get off to bed then, you've got classes in the morning!" Hermione exclaimed, nearly frightening Ginny and Harry out of their chairs. Aparently neither of them had realized she was awake.

"Morning…how are you feeling?"

"I feel fine, just a little tired, that's all. But you should really go sleep, please. I don't want to keep you from doing well tomorrow."

"All right, are you sure you don't want us to stay with you?" Harry asked, though not really wanting to stay.

"Yes, I'm sure. I'll be fine, I'll probably just fall asleep in a few minutes anyway. I'll see you later anyway, it'll be fine," she said with a smile. It suddenly hit Harry that no one had told her what had happened.

"Um, right. Okay then, goodnight Herm, we'll see you later."

The three stood out of their chairs, making sure not to scratch them on the floor. Ron squeezed Hermione's hand lightly and gave her a smile before they walked out of the room, leaving her in silence.

She sat there, examining the hand that had just been in pleasant company with Ron's, and smiled.

Maybe he does still care…that would be nice. In fact, very nice. Very nice indeed…

And she fell asleep, thinking very happy thoughts indeed.

In the corridors, the three (very tired) Gryffindors walked in near silence, aside from the slight scuffle of feet on the floor. Ron's hands were stuffed in his pockets, and though it was three in the morning, he was still able to find himself in deep thought. It was only hours ago that Padma had asked him out, yet it was even only hours ago Hermione had fainted and landed herself in a hospital bed…was this some sort of sign? Was someone trying to tell him something? He wasn't sure, but the thought intrigued him…

"Ron, we need to tell you something," Harry said suddenly, shaking Ron out of his thoughts.

"About Hermione…Madame Pomfrey told us why she fainted…she's really been hurting herself lately, she's eating, but not nearly enough, and she hardly sleeps…it's a lot worse than I thought it was, I always knew she was overdoing it, but I never thought to this extent…now I know how she does it! I was a little impressed before, what with her finding time to sleep and tutor and study and be Head Girl…but I was wrong. She's depriving herself of everything she needs to make time for everything else! It's crazy! I'm a bit glad she fainted, or she would have just kept going like that for who knows how long!" Ginny cried, making wild hand gestures throughout. Harry put a hand on her shoulder, attempting to calm her. Ron shook his head disbelievingly. 

"So, how long does she have to stay in there?" he asked quietly.

"Oh, well, Pomfrey says that it'll be at least a few days, says she'll get her to eat properly if it's the last thing she does. Plus, she's behind on more than a week's worth of sleep, but knowing Hermione, she'll never go for that. I think she'll be in there for at least five days or so…but she doesn't know anything yet. She thinks she'll be out of there tomorrow. Or later today, I should say…anyway, shouldn't be surprising when she throws a fit when she finds out…oh well. It's better for her. She'll just have to deal with it," Harry said, sighing. 

"Wow…" was all Ron could say. He couldn't help but feel guilty…here he was spending all this time with Padma while his best friend was putting herself through hell…but it was her fault! Why would she do that to herself? And she was the one who told him to go for it, wasn't she? Now he was really confused…

Ron sat in his bed that night, wondering what the bloody hell was wrong with the universe that caused it to be so, so cruel. Part of him was wishing he could take everything with Padma back, because the fact that he was going out with her now seemed so horribly wrong. He couldn't figure out why, but he realized that he would rather be face to face with Voldemort than tell Hermione that he was now with Padma. It wasn't that he was afraid of hurting her feelings; she was partly why he had said yes. But it was knowing that she was okay with it that seemed to bother him. It was like…like he didn't want her to be okay with it, that he wanted her to be a bit jealous or something. He sighed resignedly, with the feeling that nothing of the sort would be happening any time soon. And some time later, he fell asleep, thinking very sad thoughts indeed. 

"She doesn't like those, put them back."

Ginny glared at Ron as she replaced a raspberry scone on the platter in front of her.

"What, pray tell, shall I put on her plate then?" she asked caustically.

"Um…put some a couple more pieces of toast on there, and put some eggs, she likes eggs…um…instead of raspberry, give her a blueberry scone," Ron replied, ignoring the tone in Ginny's voice. He watched as she did as he told, giving her more toast. Harry laughed at the interaction between the two Weasleys; it was so sweet he could have cried.

"Okay, that's enough, hand it over," he said, reaching for the plate. "I'll see you guys later, alright?" he said, and he took off for the hospital wing.

"Well, could this be a glimpse into the future? Maybe Ron treating his future wife to a little breakfast in bed?" Harry said a few minutes after Ron had left. He grinned sweetly at Ginny, who rolled her eyes sarcastically.

"If they ever realize what loons they're being, that is," she said, grinning back. Just then someone tapped Harry on the shoulder. He turned around to see a very pretty Ravenclaw standing behind him, her long dark hair in a braid resting on her shoulder.

"Do you know where Ron is? He said he'd meet me in the entrance hall…" she said, looking around the room.

"Um…(cough) no, I don't, I think he said he didn't feel very well, so…he might be resting, yeah," Ginny said, looking convincingly concerned. Padma frowned.

"Oh, well, I hope he feels better soon…tell him I miss him for me, will you?"

"Yeah, sure, of course," Ginny replied, smiling kindly.

Padma thanked her and walked over to the Ravenclaw table.

"What?" Ginny asked, seeing the raised eyebrow on Harry's face.

"Nothing, nothing…"

"Oh come on, why let her interfere more than she already has…I can't believe he said yes to her, why? She's nothing special," she said, taking a bite of Hermione's rejected raspberry scone.

Harry nearly choked on his pumpkin juice.

"WHAT? You don't mean…"

"Oh yes, I do mean," she said.

"When? And why? Ew, that's not very kosher…" he said, grimacing. 

(A/N: I know that's nothing any of them would ever say, but I love that expression, sorry, but I had to use it…)

"Last night…well, technically, I'm not supposed to know, but while I was looking for him outside I overheard them…it was rather funny, the way it came about. She practically did all the talking, he stood there helpless…well, that's my brother for you. Never really knew how to follow up in that department."

Harry nearly cried he was laughing so hard. Oh, how true it was, how true it was.

Pretty please, review! I know that chapter wasn't too happy, but you'll see, it can only get better…hehehe. I've got plans for this one…REVIEW!!!


	9. So Backward, it Almost Feels Right

A/N: Hello hello! Alright, you may notice in this chapter that I've taken a bit of an odd turn in the way things are written, namely that's it's a bit more strange and demented. Now, I have two things to say about this, and they are as follows:

1) I happen to be in a very odd mood, so I'm not sure the next chapter will be as stylistically different as this. I'm just feeling a tad kooky, as I've had too much chocolate cake for my own good.

2) I don't think I've written anyone out of character, so don't worry. Everyone's just a bit…confused. Befuddled. Confuddled, if you will. If I've done a horrible disfiguration, well I'm sure you'll all be so kind as to let me know. Like I said, I've gone temporarily nutters. (Just smile and nod, it's not wise to upset crazy people.)

So I hope you all enjoy this, and if you happen to like it, let me know. Maybe I'll start making a habit of eating obscene amounts of chocolate cake before I write each chapter. I can tell you, I wouldn't really mind it. Really. If it's horrible, fine, tell me and I'll save the chocolate binges for some other time, i.e. when I'm not writing. Geez, you guys are hard to please. Can't a woman eat in peace?!

Like I said before, don't' mind me. I'm temporarily nutters. I love you all! Read and enjoy! (Or not, it's up to you, you loons.)

Disclaimer: I highly doubt it takes JK half a large chocolate cake to come up with her work. If it does, then jolly good times indeed!

Chapter Nine

So Backward, it Almost Feels Right

When Ron reached his destination, he peered in and saw Hermione laying in her bed, papers and books scattered all across her lap. Ron chuckled as he walked in. _I should have guessed…_

"Hey, I brought you breakfast…" he said, sitting in a chair next to her bed and setting the plate on her bedside table. Hermione smiled happily.

"Thanks, I'm starving. I guess I never realized how stupid I was being," she said, picking up the raspberry scone and looking at it disdainfully. _I hate raspberry scones…_ she thought, picking off a small piece, sticking in her mouth reluctantly, and feigning a smile.

"So, how're you feeling?" he asked.

"Well, I feel much better, I slept a lot last night, and now with this," she said, indicating the food on her plate, "I feel wonderful!"

She grinned cheekily, which only made Ron grin some more. They sat there, grinning madly at each other, until Hermione decided to make some room at the end of her bed. She picked up her Arithmancy book, which was settled by her feet, but before she could grab the back cover of it to close it, the pages flew open, releasing several folded papers that fell to the floor. 

"Oh, sorry," she said, leaning over the side of her bed.

"Let me get it, there's a reason you're stuck in that bed and I'm not," he laughed, leaning over, and a look of horror struck her face.

"Oh Ron, um, look, leave them, I'll get them later, don't worry about it," she said hopelessly, knowing there was no way he'd listen. He sat back up with a stack in his hands.

"Hermione, you've got a whole notebook's worth of parchment right here, what is this?"

"Nothing, just notes, really," she said nervously. And surely enough, he did what she expected he would, and opened one of the folded papers.

"Notes in Arithmancy? Wha--" he said, as he began to read. A few minutes later, Hermione cringed as he looked up at her. But he didn't speak; he took another folded paper from the stack and began to read it.

By the time Ron finished reading all fifteen of the papers, Hermione imagined he was nearly fuming. She chanced a glance at his face, and looked back down at the blanket over her like the sight had burned her eyes.

"So, you've uh, been writing to George then? And he's been writing back? Interesting…" he said, sitting back into his chair and looking at his hands, which seemed to be painfully throbbing, if he may say so himself. 

Hermione looked up at him timidly. _Oh Merlin, oh Merlin, oh Merlin…_

"So, Hermione, how is my brother?"

"He's uh, fine, just fine," she answered immediately. 

"Good, I'm glad. Tell him I say 'hello' for me, will you?" he asked, an odd grin taking over his face. Hermione squinted her eyes as though she were going to get a better look.

"What did you say?" she asked, not sounding like herself.

"I asked you to tell him I said 'hello'."

"Oh. Right, well sure, why not?"

"Thanks." 

Hermione looked around the room, not sure what to do with herself. She had been sure Ron was going to yell at her, or at least let his ears go hot and his face turn red. But no, neither of those things happened. She found that she felt more vulnerable in this situation than she would if he had blown up at her.

"So," he said, causing Hermione to snap her head back to look at him, "I'll see you later then, alright? I've got to go see if Harry's gone to Quidditch practice yet." He stood up, gave Hermione a quick kiss on the forehead, and picked up her empty plate. (She had found the tolerance to finish the scone.) With one last lingering look, he walked through the hospital door and down the corridor. 

"Well that was just bloody strange!" Hermione said, to no one in particular.

Ten minutes later, Ron found Padma standing next to the Gryffindor portrait, apparently searching for a way to trick the Fat Lady into letting her in, which was very unlikely, as the Fat Lady had never once let anyone from another house in. Padma did not seem like the first to be chosen.

"Er, Padma?" Ron asked, his mind reeling curiously. Padma spun around, startled by his voice.

"Oh, Ron! Wha-what are you doing out of bed? I heard you were sick, so I came to visit you; I was just talking to his lovely woman right here before you came…" she said, an accomplished grin on her face. Ron thought about this for a minute. She had heard he was sick? Interesting…He also very much doubted she was anywhere close to getting past the Fat Lady; the expression currently on her face was one of utter annoyance and dismay, neither of which would ever grant one entrance, for love or money.

"Oh yes, well, I am feeling a bit queasy, which is why I stopped by Madame Pomfrey's, so she could give me something for it." Yes, it wasn't lying very much, for he really had been to the hospital wing. But then, how would he explain his sudden need to go to Quidditch? Padma looked at him as though looking upon a helpless child, and suddenly Ron had a very, very bad feeling.

"Oh, Ronnie, you poor thing! I'm going to take care of you, you just wait, I'll be so wonderful, you'll be amazed! Let's get you inside, alright?" she said, scaring Ron so badly he actually was starting to feel a bit of a stomach bug coming on.

"Um, well—spew!" he said, as he realized reluctantly that there was no way in hell out of Padma's grip. The Fat Lady looked down on him reprovingly, but did as she had to and swung open, letting the victim and little Miss Florence Nightingale into the Gryffindor common room.

Inside, Padma practically flung him onto the nearest chaise and immediately began searching for a blanket. _Oh bugger, what the bloody hell is this?_ Ron thought as she pulled up a chair next to him and plopped herself into it and smiling. He looked around and noticed all the stares the two were receiving, like they were a comedy duo or something, though by the looks of it, Ron could tell they weren't too far off. He slouched into his seat, hoping against hope that Harry and Ginny didn't come in soon, or he'd never hear the end of it. What's more, he'd probably have to explain (in front of everyone, whose mouths were propped open by invisible sticks, and Padma as well) why it was exactly that Padma had gained entrance into the Gryffindor common room. He had just remembered (by the sinking feeling in his gut) how much he was not looking forward to breaking the news.

Three floors down…

"Morning, Hermione! How're you feeling?" Ginny asked, sitting at the end of Hermione's bed. Harry had indeed gone to Quidditch, but as neither of the girls knew, he was quite confused as to where Ron was. But that's not the point. 

"Oh, fine, actually," she responded, and if Ginny didn't know any better, she'd have thought Hermione sounded a little…in awe.

"Well that's great! Glad to hear you're not stressing out any more," she said, when suddenly something struck her. Maybe Hermione was in awe because…

"Hermione, did my brother mention anything about him and Padma?" she asked, not bothering to wonder what would happen if he hadn't. Hermione looked at her for the first time since she had entered the room.

"No, why? What about them?"

Ginny's throat tightened. _Oh, well look what you've done now, you great big wally._

"Um, nothing. I was just wondering if you'd heard anything…" she asked disconcertedly, looking at her nails for effect. Hermione watched her for a moment, and Ginny could feel her eyes boring into her like a drill. She looked up, then back down at her nails. _Well if I'm going to say it, I can't possibly do it while looking at her…_

"Wondering because they are um…well, you know, they're um… well, when a boy and a girl like each other very much, they decide it's time to uh…" She looked up to find Hermione's face a full shade lighter than the white wall behind her and nearly laughed. Then she remembered the situation at hand.

"Look, all I'm saying is…oh bugger, they're going out!" she declared, almost startling herself as much as she had Hermione. The pale one looked as though she had just been slapped. Rather hard, too. She looked back up at Ginny and smiled blankly.

"Hmm, Ginny, would you mind fetching me some cakes from the kitchens? I'm feeling a bit hungry…" she asked, a dazed look in her eyes. Ginny nodded, leaving the hospital room and hoping to never have to return. Hermione had turned quite creepy, to be honest.

And surely enough, just as she turned the corner to head for the stairs, she heard something sounding like crying coming from about fifteen feet behind her. She turned around and looked through the door, only to find Hermione…laughing? Yes, there she was, stting in her bed, laughing lightly to herself as though she had just told herself the most amusing little joke. 

_Oh, Merlin…_ Ginny though, turning around and descending the stairs in threes.

I know, you're probably thinking how weird it is for Hermione to be laughing. But trust me, when something like that happens to you…laughter saves you from the pain. Trust me, I know. Even in Hermione's case. 

Don't believe me? Ask the dishes! 

Remember, just smile and nod. And review.


	10. Pop! Goes the Weasel

A/N: Hey! First, I want to apologize for how long it's taken me to post this. It is, in fact, for a few reasons:

First, the day after I posted the last chapter, my computer died. My dad took it in to get fixed, and I didn't get it back for a week.

Then, as soon as I got it back (cruel as it is) my mum decided to ground me. Yeah, it sucked, a lot. That lasted about a week and a half.

As soon as I began writing this chapter, my mom found this apartment and decided that we should all move (yippee, great timing). So, for the past week or so, I've been working and packing and overall going crazy. 

So, now that it is 9:15 on this lovely Tuesday evening, the 29th of July, I am sitting in my half-empty, barely furnished new bedroom on a lawn chair in the corner next to the window and a computer on my lap, attempting to finish this as soon as possible. Please forgive me, I hope you all haven't been pulling your hair out waiting for this chapter. And if you have, well, I hear Rogaine really does work. In fact, send me a letter and I'll reimburse you for the cost of it.

Anyway, here is the rest of my regularly scheduled author's note:

1) To whom it may concern (ahem: 'I I I'):

Dammit, you caught me!! Yes, after I posted chapter four, I realized my mistake in saying that 'hello' was a one-syllable word. I hoped against hope that no one would notice or mention it because I didn't want to go back and exchange the chapter just for one word; even if I had, the people reading it would have still seen the wrong one, as it takes about 24 hours for the chapters to actually switch. So, I left it. Sorry about that everyone, as you can imagine I was laughing like a loon when I realized how dumb I was. But oh well, we all make mistakes.

2) Sparkles!! No, my dear, I haven't been stalking you. Just sitting outside your bedroom window every night and watching you. That's not a problem, is it? Hehe. Anyway, I find it really amusing that someone else has shared my fate. You see, this story is basically the story of my life. Yes, it's sad but true. Okay, not my life, but you get what I mean. Odd, too, that you said this is what's been happening over the past five months, as it's been happening to me for…hmm, the past nine I think. Anyway, I thought you'd be delighted to know that everything (literally everything) that has happened so far is based on what's happened to me. I suppose you could say I'm writing this story in hopes that it will give me hope about that certain guy and me. So I think, dear Sparkles, that it is you who has been stalking me! No, just kidding. But I do feel your pain! And yes, I think this story will give you hope about that guy, cuz if what happens at the end of this story is anywhere close to what happens to you, then I think you'll be very pleased. That's all! (oh, and Sparkles, you are now my new best friend. Just thought I'd warn you.)

One more thing: if you all are STILL confused about the flashback/chapter breakdown, I'll write it for you here AGAIN. Just know that after this, you'll be on your own, I've already written this a couple times. Here it is:

Chapter One: NOT a flashback

Chapter Two: the first part and the last part are flashbacks, the middle is not.

Chapter Three: the first part

Chapters four and on: no flashbacks.

Okay? I hope that helps. If not, for your viewing convenience I have decided to repost chapters one through three, with markings indicating the beginning and ending of a flashback. I figure that should make things a bit easier for you guys, right? Right. Hope that helps!!

One more thing, really quick: I just put up a new story, it's called A Simple Kind of Life, and it's a post-Hogwarts story, so…if you guys are interested, check it out, I'd appreciate it a lot!! 

Disclaimer: No! Je suis la jeune fille! Je ne suis pas l'auteur d'Harry Potter!

Heehaw, I parle francais!

Chapter Ten

Pop! Goes the Weasel

For the rest of the day, Hermione felt simply delightful. She sat in her hospital bed, watching students cruise across the campus nonchalantly, enjoying the last days of summer weather. At lunch, she was visited by Harry, who brought her a sandwich and the morning's Daily Prophet (as Ron had forgotten it earlier). Between lunch and dinner, she received visits from lots of people, like Neville (who brought her a freshly picked daisy from the grounds) and Lavender and Parvati (who by now respected Hermione enough to not rub in the news of Ron and Padma, which Hermione appreciated more than she could say). The day, as awful as it had started, was now turning out to be…not so bad, really. She had almost pushed all thoughts of Ron and Padma out of her head. Then, just as she was about to drift to sleep, she heard one more, unexpected knock on the door. 

"Hermione?" came a quiet voice from the doorway.

"Hmm, come in," Hermione said, quickly opening her eyes before her visitor could notice she had been on the verge of sleep. She sat up and blinked her eyes harshly a few times. She gently patted her hair down, just in case, and looked up at the person towering feet above her head.

"Hey, how're you feeling?" came the voice of a precarious redhead. 

"Oh, um…I'm fine, just fine," she said, ignoring that painful stinging in the pit of her stomach. 

"That's good. I just came to check on you again. I'm glad you're feeling better, Madame Pomfrey says you'll be out tomorrow night!" he said, a bit of excitement shining through his voice. Hermione smiled, and just then she felt a pang of curiosity…gently, subtly, she looked down at her hands, then back into his face, eagerly.

"Yeah…so, Ron, what's new? Have I missed anything? It's a bit frustrating, you know, being stuck in this bed all day and night long while tons of interesting things are going on outside these walls," she said, looking out onto the grounds and hoping she didn't seem to know anything she shouldn't have. Ron's eyes followed her gaze, and as they did, they fell upon that spot. The place where he had been with Padma only a few nights before. The place where, looking back now, it felt as though he had signed away his whole future. 

He looked back at Hermione with a smile. 

"I know how you feel. But no, nothing new is going on, not that I know of anyway. You might ask Harry, maybe he has some news or something, I'm not sure. There's nothing new that I know of though," he said, not meeting her eyes. He was finding it very strange, sitting there and lying to Hermione and feeling guilty about it. _It's not like she knows, why do I feel guilty? _He thought. 

Hermione looked at him as she struggled to contain her anger. _I could understand if he was getting around to telling me, but how can he stand right in front of me and deny it?_ She could feel her fingers twisting and cringing in her lap.

"Are you sure? Nothing you want to tell me?" she asked again, hoping he would admit to it.

"Uh, nope. Nothing." Hermione sighed heavily and looked up at him, pausing for effect.

"How can you say that, Ron, when just a few nights ago you started going out with Padma?" she breathed, glaring daggers at him.

Ron stared at her, very much taken aback. He wasn't sure what he was thinking; so much was running through his head. He couldn't exactly think of what to say, but it didn't seem to matter much as Hermione spoke for him.

"You have no idea how this feels, and I can't figure out why you felt like you couldn't tell me, I mean it's a big thing, and you couldn't even let me know! If it wasn't for Ginny, I'd still be sitting here clueless and thinking nothing was happening! You're my best friend, Ron, and best friends tell each other things! But no, you just decided we weren't close enough for you to let me in on the important things going on in your life. But that's fine, really, that's fine. I guess I just don't mean enough to you for you to tell me things-"

"Excuse me just a bloody minute, but I didn't see you rushing to tell me about your bloody letters to my bloody brother!" Ron shouted suddenly, causing Hermione to jump. His face was as red as red could be, and his hands were roaming wildly in midair. Hermione looked at him, half afraid and half appalled.

"Excuse me? Like that's any of your business in the first place!" she yelled, regretting it almost instantly.

"Not any of my business? First of all, it's as much my business as my relationship with Padma is yours! Secondly, you're my best friend and he's my brother, so it's my business either way! But no, apparently not, right? It's amazing how much crap you're talking when you went and did the same exact thing! Guess I could start calling you Hypocritical Hermione, eh? I mean, you go behind my back and write all these letters to my brother, without me knowing, acting like nothing's going on, and then when I find them you don't even say anything, you try and act like they're Arithmancy notes? Gods, I guess I don't mean that much to you if you can't even tell me about some bloody letters," he said, and he ran his hand through his fiery hair. Hermione sat still, watching him and breathing shallowly. 

"Ron, nothing was in those letters. No conspiracies, no inside information. I mean it's not like we were planning anything or telling each other our deepest secrets! We were just being nice to each other, talking to each other. I wouldn't expect you to know this, but sometimes it's really nice having someone _mature_ to talk to," she said coldly, avoiding the glare Ron gave her in return.

"Oh, so you go and call me your best friend, only to tell me two minutes later that I'm not mature enough? Geez, Hypocritical Hermione really does suit you then, doesn't it? Well, I'm so, so incredibly sorry that I'm not good enough or mature enough to talk to, I guess I should just hand you some parchment so you can write to your new best pal, right? I'm sure he'd love to hear about this. I know what you wrote in those letters Hermione, I read them! So don't tell me about how there's nothing in them…it's nice to know what high regards you two hold me in. Glad to know my best friend and my brother speak so kindly of me. Next time, I suggest you put up a better argument, or at least not contradict yourself, it doesn't make you look too bright."

Hermione, whose arms were already aggressively crossed across her chest, raised her hand in the air angrily. But before she could speak, she saw Ron turn away and walk through the doorway, not bothering to look back. She re-crossed her arm and snarled to nobody in particular. 

"Oh, I could kill him, I could really kill him," she said, letting a stray tear drift down her cheek. She rubbed her eyes defiantly, as though daring another tear to show itself, and sank under the covers of her bed, pulling them over her head.

Down the hall, Ron's hands had been shoved violently into his pockets. _Damn, why did this happen?_ he asked himself as he descended the stairs. He was no mood to sleep, or to be questioned by his sister or The Boy Who Would Ask, so he decided to visit the kitchens for a nighttime snack. As he reached the bottommost stair, he nearly barked at the sound of the voice he wanted to hear the least…

"Ronnie! There you are, where've you been? I was wondering earlier, but I figured you just had quidditch practice or something…are you alright?" asked Padma, as her friend Sarah looked on inquisitively. 

"Oh yeah, I'm fine, I'm just a bit…discombobulated at the moment. I was just getting myself a snack, haven't eaten in a while," he said. _Yeah, if by 'a while' you mean an hour ago…_ he thought. Padma frowned sympathetically, while Sarah looked at her confused. _Discombobulated? Who says that?_

"Oh, that's nice. Well, do you want us to come with you, keep you company?" she asked sweetly.

"Um, sure, why not," he said, and he began walking again, with Sarah and Padma in tow. Just as he removed a hand from inside his pocket to scratch an itch on his other elbow he felt something large, but soft, slip in between his fingers. Looking down, he saw it was a hand. _Well, that's interesting…_ he thought, and with a small shrug, he tightened the grip on her hand and closed his fingers over the back of her hand. Sarah looked down in near disgust. _If anyone should be holding his hand, it's me…_

Ten minutes later, the three arrived at the portrait of the bowl of fruit. Ron tickled the pear lightly and, after hearing it giggle, grasped the handle and allowed the door to swing out. He heard Padma gasp as they were greeted with what looked to the girls like 100 house elves. Ron looked down and noticed a particular elf waving his hand frantically.

"Why, it's Harry's Wheezy! How is you, Wheezy? So nice of you to come and visit us!" he said, tugging on Ron's pocket and leading them to a table. "What can Dobby get for you?"

"Hi, Dobby. I'm fine thanks, and how are you?"

"Oh, Dobby is wonderful, sir, just wonderful. Dobby is glad that you are doing well," he added, bowing happily. But just as he was smiling up at Ron, his eyes fell upon a seemingly disturbing sight.

"So Master Wheezy, what can Dobby get for you?" he asked, trying to ignore the set of held hands in front of his face.

"Oh, would you mind getting me a couple of sandwiches? I think that'll be it," Ron answered, looking around at the other elves.

"Of course, Dobby will be right back." Dobby and five other elves took off and quickly returned carrying a platter of sandwiches, making Ron chuckle.

"Thanks Dobby, that's wonderful. Thanks loads, this'll last me all night," he joked. Dobby smiled. But it seemed that the issue at hand was getting the better of him.

"Master Wheezy, where's Hermione? Why is she not with you?" Dobby asked, and Ron could have sworn, if only for a brief moment, that Dobby had thrown Padma a dirty look, but Ron put it out of his mind quickly.

"Er, well, Mione's still in the hospital wing-" he started.

"-Right, I almost forgot, she gets to leave tomorrow! Well, Dobby thinks that tomorrow night Master Wheezy should celebrate for Hermione, since she's been gone for so very long! We'll make a cake! And if Dobby is correct sir, is it not Hermione's birthday soon?" he asked with a gigantic grin. That's when it hit Ron: Hermione's birthday was in only a few days.

"Um, that would be, uh, great, Dobby, just great, why don't you uh, do that," he said uneasily. It wasn't as if they were exactly…friends, at the moment.

"Dobby is so excited! Never has Dobby been so honored, to help celebrate the birthday of Harry Potter and his Wheezy's best friend's birthday!!" And with that, he threw himself at Ron's legs and squeezed them tightly. Padma, reacting to all of this for the first time, let out a small giggle. Sarah looked on in awe.

"Thanks Dobby, I'm sure she'll love it. Well, we should be going now, thank you Dobby, I'll come back and see you soon!" Ron said, and he waved goodbye. Padma and Sarah waved goodbye as well, and they exited the portrait hole.

They had been walking for only a few moments when suddenly Padma decided to squeal in Ron's ear.

"Ronnie, they were all so cute! And that one that was talking to you, Donald? Oh, right, Dobby. He was the most adorable thing I have ever seen! The way he admired you, it was just so sweet!" she said, squeezing his hand. Ron smiled, thinking about how right she was. It really was sweet, wasn't it?

"I can only hope that when I have a house, all of my house elves are as adorable as he was!"

Ron couldn't help what Hermione would say to that; it certainly made his stomach curl.

The next morning, Hermione sat up in bed and stretched her arms. Looking out the window, she saw that it must have been at least nine in the morning; the Gryffindor quidditch team was out on the grounds practicing. She got out of bed to stretch a little better and walked over to the window. 

Hmm, seems like a nice day…though it's a bit stuffy. I'll just open this up a litt—AHHH!

"AHHHHHH!!!" screamed Hermione, as she flew backwards so far she flipped over her bed. 

Floating in the window was a large, vicious-looking owl hovering in front of the window, a large scroll tied to its leg. Hermione got to her feet, cautiously peered over the edge of the bed, and let out a yelp. It was the ugliest, scariest owl she had ever seen in her life. Taking a deep breath, she stood up, shook herself off, and walked back over to the window. She slowly flipped the lock and pulled the window open, and the bird flew in and landed on her bed. 

"Okay, um…I'll just take that, will I?" she said, scrunching up her face as she untied the letter. The owl looked at her maliciously, then flew off as soon as she removed the scroll. Hermione sat back down on the bed and began to read the letter.

Ironically, thought Hermione, it was from George, just to ask her about the next Hogsmeade date and to update her on the status of the shop ("_We're doing so well, we see the same kids come in like three times in the same day!"_) He had also commented on the owl, which turned out to be a new acquisition. Fred had purchased it, knowing it was the ugliest, oddest owl around and had intended to use it to scare their letter-receivers; Hermione had been somewhat of a test-run. She rolled up the letter, a smile on her face, and slipped it into her bag. With a sigh, she looked down again at the grounds and noticed Ron and Harry on their brooms. She sunk into her bed and crossed her arms instinctively; she couldn't help but realize the irony in the whole situation: she had to pick a fight with him just before being released from the hospital wing, and why had she been there? The same thing she was dealing with now, because of said fight: stress. She pulled the bag from under her bed and pulled out the letters she had received from George, observing them with a bit of annoyance. Were they really worth all this fuss? Sure, they were just letters, and Ron may have overreacted just a little bit, if any, but knowing how Ron felt now, would she have not written to George, to avoid all this? She was pondering this as a door opened and a pair of feet shuffled in busily.

"Miss Granger?" came a voice from the corner.

"Hmm, I mean yes?" she responded, pivoting around to face her inquisitor.

"I believe you a free to go now, if you like," said Madame Pomfrey, stepping out of the shadows and over to Hermione's bed. Hermione sighed, pleased.

"Oh, thank you Madame Pomfrey, thank you so much. And thank you for taking such good care of me, I appreciate it very much," she said, hurriedly stuffing her belongings into her bag and swinging it over her shoulder. 

"Now, Miss Granger, I don't want to have to keep you in here like this again, I want you to promise me that you'll take better care of yourself and not let yourself get so stressed out next time, all right?"

"Yes, Madame Pomfrey, I promise." She smiled gratefully and walked through the doorway, more excited than excited to be finally leaving. She headed down the stairs, receiving greetings from those passing by, and sidled into the library, taking her regular seat at the second table by the window. 

At nine that night, Ron was sitting in a chaise, with Harry and Ginny in chairs nearby, when Hermione entered the common room, having finished her Head Girl duties early. She spotted Ron immediately and was sneaking her way up the stairs to her dorm when she heard her name. Cringing, she turned back around and grinned.

"Yes, Ginny?" she asked sweetly. 

"Where are you going?" 

"Oh, you know, upstairs…I-I'll be back though!" she added, though the thought saddened her. She was barely in any mood to be hanging around Ron, especially since now they weren't exactly on speaking terms. As she snuck up the last step, Ron swung his head around, hoping (seemingly against the odds, in his eyes) that he wouldn't see her, though he was hard-pressed to admit that he was a bit disappointed when he didn't. He turned back around to find Harry watching him inquisitively.

"Did something…happen today, Ron?" he asked.

"Happen? Like what?" he answered bitterly.Why was he having so much trouble being honest lately?

"Oh, like you and Herm having a falling out, something like that maybe?"

"Huh. Well, alright, so Mione and I got in a fight last night, big deal. It's not like it's the first time that's happened or anything. We'll be fine in a few days," he said, waving his hand dismissively. Harry looked over at Ginny, who in turn shrugged. The two left the subject alone, returning to their respective weekend homework assignments, but Ron couldn't help but wonder why it was he doubted his own works…

Hermione was at the top of the stairs, and had been about to place her foot on the first step down, when she had heard what Ron had said. "Fine in a few days?" she whispered. If he thought she was going to forgive him that simply, he had another thing coming. She spun around and wasn't a bit cautious to stop the door from slamming behind her. 

Ginny flinched at the sound upstairs and frowned. This was going to be a very interesting next few days…


	11. Stormy Weather

A/N: hey guys! Lauren here. And along with me I bring you…the next chapter! Haha, I had a good time with this one…it's a little crazy, but you'll see. Yay! So read on, I hope you all like this one!

And thanks to all my reviewers, you have no idea what it means to me to that you got me past the 200-mark!! Thanks so much, keep up the reviewing!!

Disclaimer: JK, believe it or not, is my long-lost uncle's sister's husband's daughter's mother's monkey's attorney's best friend's gardener's fifth cousin (thrice removed, that is.). Bet y'all are impressed, huh? I know, I know, it makes me undeniably cool. Unfortunately, not cool enough to actually own any of these characters, but…yeah, undeniably cool.

Chapter Eleven

Stormy Weather

It was no surprise to anyone that Hermione didn't return to the common room that evening. Ron did feel a little bit remorseful for what he had said, but lately he had been having trouble controlling his frustration, and we all know what it's like to say things we don't mean as a result of speaking before thinking. 

Hermione, on the other hand, wasn't remorseful at all, about anything. After slamming the door, she had sat on her bed and decided to clear her head of all emotion involving Ron. She wouldn't let herself be stressed by Ron and Padma's relationship, because really, how long could something that horrid last anyway? Hermione's guess? Three weeks. (It was a shame Fred and George weren't around to participate, she had the feeling she could have profited very much.) She also decided that, from now on, she wouldn't be bothered with her feelings for Ron, because, first of all, she didn't even know what those feelings were exactly. Secondly, it was just too much to deal with, what with her Head Girl duties, and her schoolwork, and the ever-approaching N.E.W.T.s. So really, there was nothing to be bothered with. It was time to just move on.

The next few days were, as Ginny knew they would be, very interesting. At first, Ron and Hermione decided to sort of ignore each other. But over time, Ron realized that nothing was changing. This was unlike any argument they had had before. Every previous argument usually followed specific guidelines:

First day: avoid each other as much as possible; no words exchanged.

Second day: avoid each other as much as before; polite (or possibly bitter) and minimal exchange of words.

Third day: not so much avoidance. Begin 'not minding' being around the person; Try breaking the tension with a few corny jokes and a bit of friendly banter.

Fourth day: realize what sorry dopes you are and attempt to apologize while keeping own ego intact. If possible, apologize while taking as little blame onto yourself. 

Fifth day: forgiveness has begun. Slowly yet surely, things will be back to normal. Really.

Sixth day: head back into normal conversations. Grudges have generally been dropped by now, normal life can carry on.

Seventh day: oh, go on, give them a hug, (they deserve it), and pray that next time they'll be just as forgiving.

But by the fourth day, Ron realized that this time, there was no sign of any less avoidance. Hermione was practically everywhere in the castle except where Ron was. And if, by some miracle, they did cross paths, it seemed as though she looked straight through him. Ron was beginning to feel a tearing pain in the pit of his stomach. Was there any hope? Any hope at all?

Alas, if the human race was not so afflicted by the need to save face, you could have bet your bottom dollar that Ron would have tried to find out. But because Ron had every intention of saving face, he decided that he too would not be bothered by the situation. If Hermione didn't care to fix things, then he wouldn't either. In his opinion, it probably wasn't worth it anyway. (Yeah right, like he really thought that…)

Of course, Ginny and Harry knew that Ron was probably as much to blame as Hermione, but they were in no rush to point this out. This was their problem, and if they couldn't work it out, then…oh well. (Though both secretly hoped that one or both Ron and Hermione would come around at some point.)

Over the course of the next week, Ron found himself spending more quality time with Padma. Surprisingly, she wasn't really as annoying as he thought she was. For one thing, she was very helpful when it came to completing his homework assignments, even though they had no classes together. For another, she always knew exactly where he was supposed to be at any given time (on account of she spent an entire morning studying his schedule.) So whenever he lost track of time or forgot what class he had, all he had to do was ask Padma. It was really quite useful, he came to discover. Sort of like having a personal organizer, in a way. 

As for Hermione…Hermione found herself…well, actually, she found herself quite happy. Happy, for the first time in a long time. "How long?" you ask? A long time. She wasn't quite sure how she had done it, but she had convinced herself that everything would be okay, even with Ron going out with that ugly, obnoxious, piece of snot, suck-up Ravenclaw…Oops, I mean…wonderful, polite girl from Ravenclaw. But still, Hermione held no grudges. Really. She wished Ron and Padma the best of luck and happiness. As for her, she had much better things to do with her time. Not only had she gotten to know Ginny even better than before, she had started talking to people she had never talked to before, becoming better friends and establishing better inter-house relationships with Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. (We all know it's no use with Slytherin, so don't even ask.) She was getting more work done than ever, and she was enjoying it. Really. No lie.

Perhaps it was all of this that Ron found so irksome. Here he was, being led around like some puppy on a leash (that was held by his personal assistant/girlfriend/near stalker), while Hermione was working as hard as ever and enjoying it. The gilded splendor of having Padma as a girlfriend was starting to fade, and he was beginning to wonder if Hermione's façade of happiness was too. It wasn't that he didn't believe Hermione could be okay without him. In fact, that's what scared him. He didn't want Hermione to be okay without him, he wanted her to depend on him, because he knew inside that he depended on her. He wondered if she felt the same way, but he was afraid to learn the answer. If she indeed didn't feel the same, and it really wasn't a façade, then Ron was at a real loss. It was no fun having Padma do his homework; she never nagged at him or pushed him to do any of it himself. He never had to try with her, and though that was what made it fun at first, he was beginning to feel…an odd feeling of helplessness. He really had nothing to do, because Padma was all too willing to do it for him. It was Hermione who kept him going, who kept him on his toes, who motivated him. Or tried to, anyway. When it all came down to it, he needed Hermione's friendship…or did he need more than that?

Two weeks, three days and twenty-one hours into the silence, Ron found Hermione—where else?—in the library, searching through the aisles of shelves for a book on magic in 19th century Africa, for a paper Binns assigned them on Friday. (of course, it wasn't due for another two weeks, but…there's no need to explain this one.) He peeked around the corner, just to see that she was busy enough that she would be there for a while. After watching her for a few minutes, he smiled and calmly left the library, Hermione knowing nothing different.

Hermione did remain busy for quite some time, spending two hours starting (and nearly finishing) her paper. After realizing how tired she was, she packed up her bag and left the library, blearily heading down the halls and up the stairs until she made it to the common room. She muttered the password, walked through the portrait hole, and made her way up the stairs, looking down into the common room to see who was still awake. In a chair close to the fire lay Ron, just as she'd expected. She felt her eyes linger a little longer than she'd have liked, but she continued up the staircase and into her dorm. She set down her bag next to her bed and, obviously not looking where she was sitting, plopped down on her bed. Hearing a crunch as she sat down, she jumped up and removed a piece of parchment, unfolded it, and began to read.

_Dear Hermione, _

_ I know that you're probably wondering why you've found this on your bed. I was writing you because, well, we haven't really spoken in a while, and I miss being able to talk to you, and us being friends, and I was hoping that you and I could talk about our argument and sort it out maybe. If you want, you can find me in the common room, or we could talk tomorrow, or whenever you want, that is if you want to. _

_ Ron_

Hermione rolled up the parchment and set it on the table next to her, the stored mass of feelings she had been keeping back the past three weeks rushing suddenly over her like a tidal wave. First and foremost, she was glad. No matter how happy she had seemed before, somewhere in the back of her mind lived the nagging worry that maybe Ron hadn't been disappointed in losing Hermione and that maybe he would end up happily ever after with Padma after all. But now…now there was hope. Not more hope than she thought reasonable, of course, but still…hope. 

Secondly, she couldn't help but feel that she had had some sort of victory. This time, she made sure that Ron was really sorry, and not just looking to 'make things fine' just to ease his conscious. This time, they had both had time to think, and they had both realized that it wasn't that easy being without each other. She sat back down on her bed and laid her head down on the pillow, sighing. As happy as she was, she was undeniably tired. She had seen him in the common room a few minutes earlier, so she knew he was still there. She'd rest her eyes for just a few minutes, and then she'd go see him…

^

A beam of light flashed across the room of the 7th year girls' dormitory, and Hermione sat up with a start. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up, placed her feet on the soft carpeted floor, and stumbled toward the window, where she was surprised to see a full-blown thunderstorm, the thin sheet of glass being all that kept it from hitting her face. Staring wide-eyed, she looked across the grounds at something moving, but couldn't see what it was. She squinted her eyes tightly to possibly see better, and saw what she thought to be a mass of red hair. She immediately grabbed her cloak from the chair by her bed, noticing the clock on the table which was ticking right past three a.m. She slipped on her shoes while making sure to grab her Head Girl badge and headed down the stairs, admonishing herself for sleeping so long. 

She rushed out through the portrait hole and down the halls faster and quieter than she ever thought she could, and within a couple of minutes she was in the entrance hall. She pulled open one of the doors and, stepping out onto the platform, swished her cloak over her shoulders, covering her white dressing gown, and fastened it around her neck. With a glance into the far stretches of grass that lay in front of her and the forbidden, haunted-looking forest that loomed behind it, she took a sharp, deep breath and stepped out into the perilous storm.

Trying to remember where she'd seen him, she pushed against the wind and tried to shield her face from the harsh rain. Holding onto a nearby tree, her eyes—protected by umbrage— searched her rough surroundings, looking for any sign of him, but finding nothing. She threw herself out into the rain again, pushing harder against the wind and about to break out into a run when she felt something slip from underneath her feet. The next thing she felt was the soft, squishy ground underneath her, and right above her flashed another beam of lightning. Hermione rolled over, got back on her feet, and leaned up against the next tree, catching her breath. No matter the elements, Hermione was determined to find him. She let her eyes roam the grounds again, and finally, suddenly, she saw him, near the edge of the Forbidden Forest. But it wasn't his hair that stood out for her to find him. His blue eyes burned into hers like fire; for some reason, he was staring right at her, as if he had been expecting her. 

Hermione nearly jumped back a foot, she was so taken aback, but she could not stop herself from staring right back at him. Her feet began dragging her forward and she did not fight them. Closer and closer she was to him, and more intense became the stare between them. She no longer felt the wind pushing against her or the rain on her face; she was only aware of the blue eyes boring into her, bringing her closer. Soon enough she felt herself in his space, and without breaking eye contact, he lifted his hands and placed them softly around her jawline. Hermione felt a million questions running through her mind: what was he doing outside, in the middle of a storm, at three in the morning? Why was he looking at her like that? Had he been expecting her? If so, how did he know she would come? She couldn't focus on one, and so she couldn't ask anything. All she could do was watch. For even if she could have picked one thing to ask, she no longer had control over her actions. It was as if she was hypnotized, under Ron's control.

He kept looking at her, and had anyone else looked at her the same way, she would have been very afraid. But in this case, she was feeling the opposite; she had never felt so safe in her whole life. And finally, her mind settled down enough for her to speak comprehensibly. 

"Ron, wh—what are you doing out here? It's…it's freezing, you could get sick, and it's nearly three-thirty in the morning! Did I mention that you could get sick? This is cra--"

But she never got to finish telling Ron how crazy and deranged it all was, because she suddenly felt a pair of surprisingly warm, soft lips press against hers, and every thought going through her mind dissolved into the rain as she closed her eyes. Her hands started trembling uncontrollably, so Ron moved his hands to place hers in his coat pockets. She gripped tightly onto his pocket lining as he deepened the kiss, and she felt a light tingling rush up her spine as—

—the covers were pulled off her body. 

"Hermione, wake up!"

Hermione blinked wearily, her eyes being brutally beaten by a rogue ray of sun. She picked up her pillow and slammed it into the wise red head, who, instead of falling over backwards, caught it in her hands and yanked it forward, lifting Hermione from her dormant position. Hermione groaned as she reached for her clock.

"Ten in the morning? What am I doing in bed at ten in the morning? Ginny, I'm so late, Snape's going to kill me--"

"Hermione, calm down, Snape's not gonna kill you," Ginny said, keeping firm pressure on Hermione's shoulder's to keep her down. She reached over for the clock and stuck it in Hermione's face. 

"You must have looked at the clock sideways, because it's only 7:45," she said, as if it were completely obvious. Hermione blinked at her like a deer in headlights, which caused Ginny to burst out in laughter.

"Herm, it's all right, really, just uh, just get dressed and we'll go down to breakfast, all right?" she said, holding back more laughter as Hermione glared at her. She stood up and walked over to her trunk, pulled out a uniform, and retreated to the bathroom. Ten minutes later, she returned, and Ginny noticed the dazed look on her face as the descended the stairs.

"Hermione, are you all right? You look a little, well, disoriented or something. Did you have a weird dream or something?"

"Yeah, that's it. I just had this crazy dream, that's all…"

But if it had been just a dream, why did it seem so real? And was that a cold she felt coming on? She wondered this as they entered the common room. Harry was standing by a chair when they entered, and he walked over with a smile. 

"Morning, Harry," Ginny said, putting her hand on his head and disheveled his hair. Harry chuckled as he did the same, causing Ginny to duck and squeal.

"Er, Harry, where's Ron?" she asked, noticing his absence. Harry ceased his chase and stood up. 

"He's still upstairs, he said he didn't feel too well today, like he's got a cold or something. I told him to go see Pomfrey, but of course he refused, so I figured we could check on him at lunch, see if we can't drag him over there maybe."

While walking down the stairs, the three noticed signs posted on the walls. Moving closer to see better, Harry read aloud to the girls.

**Notice to all Hogwarts students:**

** Due to severe rain and lightning damage, all outside classes will be canceled today, during which time your house prefects may instruct you.**

** Deputy Headmistress McGonagall**

"'Rain and lightning damage'? When was there rain? Was there a storm or something?" asked Lavender, who was a few steps behind them. Hermione spun around. _A storm??_

Hmm…bet you all are wondering what really happened, aren't you? Well…you'll have to review to find out! Review, please! The fate of Ron and Hermione depend on it! REVIEW!!


	12. The End of the Beginning of the End

A/N: Hey guys! Okay, so here is the chapter you've all been waiting for…I hope you all like it!! I have to say, I very, very much enjoyed writing this, it's possibly my favorite chapter so far, so I hope you all like it as much as I do! It's definitely…eventful. That's all you'll hear from me. So read up, enjoy, and make sure to tell me what you think when you've finished!! 

Lauren

Disclaimer: Had I been born JK, I wouldn't have to resort to writing cliffies to get reviews, now would I? 

Didn't think so.

Chapter Twelve

The Beginning of the End of the Beginning

Ron awoke from his second slumber and looked out the window. _Oh, so it really was a dream…_he thought, noticing the brightly shining sun. _Seemed a little too real for my liking anyway…_ He lay back down in his bed and sighed. "Definitely not a bad dream, though. Not a bad dream at all," he said out loud. 

Meanwhile, Hermione raced up the stairs, dropping her bag at her feet and nearly knocking poor Lavender into the wall as she went. Ginny called after her, but the air was rushing past her ears so fast that she never heard her. Up and up she went, paying no attention to the students who stopped to point and stare. Finally, just as her legs could take her no further, she collapsed against the wall next to the portrait hole and tried to catch her breath.

"Dear, may I help you?" asked the Fat Lady, watching her almost nervously, anticipating her next move. Hermione took an audibly deep breath.

"S-s-SPEW!" she cried, causing the Fat Lady to jump a bit.

"Yes, yes, why of course, dear!" she replied, and she swung open to reveal the common room. Hermione, in a very different manner as previously, tossed her hair behind her, stepped inside, and climbed the staircase to her dorm as calmly as possible. _There's no way that dream was real, it's not possible…not at all, no way._ She opened her door and walked over to her bed. On the chair at her bedside table rested her cloak, and there was a very pregnant pause before she let herself touch it. She would know, for if she had really gone, it would surely still be wet…

Slowly, she extended a shaky hand. Never before had she been so nervous about an inanimate object. Her fingertips brushed against the fabric once, then twice, and then she grabbed it fiercely and sighed, relieved. Just as she sank down onto her bed, still clutching the coat, she heard someone enter behind her. 

"Hermione, what on earth has gotten into you? What are you doing?" Ginny asked, out of breath. Hermione held the cloak close, as though it had just saved her life. Or better, told her she had passed all of her N.E.W.T.s with flying colors.

"Well? What's going on?" Ginny asked again, resting her hands on her hips. "You dropped this, by the way," she said, letting Hermione's bag sink onto the floor next to her. Hermione looked at her and smiled.

"Thanks. Uh, it's nothing, I was just um, worried that my cloak had been wet, but here I find it's not, that's all." She handed it to Ginny as though asking for further proof of her discovery. 

"Gee, Herm, it's just a cloak, you know," Ginny said, taking it and examining it. She was just observing the collar when, with a small shriek, she slipped it over her shoulders. Hermione looked at her, confused. 

"Oh, here it is! I was wondering where I'd put this, and it turns out I'd left it here all along! Thanks Hermione, now I'll be warm if that storm starts up again," Ginny said happily. Hermione let out a small squeak. _It can't possibly be hers, what is she talking about?_

"Wait, yours? What do you mean, how can you tell?" she asked desperately.

"Well, mine has a few holes chewed into the collar, see? Right along there," she said, taking it off and showing Hermione the marks. "A couple years ago, I was wearing it outside while Ron was de-gnoming the garden, and something gave him the idea it'd be really adorable to stick one on my shoulders…well, as you can see, he had a bit of fun with my collar."

Hermione sank lower into her bed as she felt the weight of what may well have been a thousand gnomes rest on her shoulders. It wasn't her cloak? (Well, in any other situation, she would have surely felt a bit bad about the whole gnome-chewing thing, but…this was obviously more important.) How was it not her cloak? She wouldn't let herself believe it. If that wasn't hers, then where was it?

"Well, where could mine be then?" she asked, trying to keep calm. She dropped to the floor and began searching through her trunk.

"Hermione, don't worry, McGonagall says it probably won't start again, but if it does it won't be until later tonight…after classes end, I'll help you find it, all right? But right now, if we don't go downstairs we're going to be late," she said, sliding off the cloak and folding it over her arm. Hermione looked up at the clock and mouthed silently. 

"Gah! Let's go," she cried, standing up and grabbing her bag laying at Ginny's feet. Ginny led as they descended the stairs, and Hermione waited (however, quite frustrated and distressed) while Ginny dropped off her cloak in her dorm. They walked as quickly as their tired legs would take them, and when they reached the entrance hall, they parted ways, Hermione going toward the dungeons, and Ginny heading to Charms.

A few moments later, Hermione puffed through the door and landed in her seat next to Harry, who looked at her inquisitively. She had time enough to say "I'll explain later" before Snape bustled into the room. 

Hermione was finding it extremely difficult to concentrate. The thought of last night being even the merest of possibilities was more upsetting than anything she could recall. Okay, except for the troll incident, and the chess game, and Harry's second encounter with Voldemort, and then the basilisk stuff, and then being chased by Sirius Black, and then the whole third task incident, and then of course there was Harry being almost killed at the end of fourth year. And then, there was Mr. Weasley being attacked by that basilisk, and having to suffer through the pains of Professor Umbridge, and Sirius' death, and going after and fighting Death Eaters…

All right, the thought of last night being even the merest of possibilities was undoubtedly less upsetting than all of the above, but it was still quite distressing. How could something like that happen? How could she even be sure that it had? And, if it had, how would that change things? Surely things would get very strange, as they hadn't spoken in three weeks, and there was the Padma factor…but what if it didn't happen? Hermione couldn't decide which possibility disappointed her most, and that fact was the most distressing of all the others. Did that mean she liked Ron? After three weeks of deciding she didn't? Her head was spinning and she couldn't stop it. 

After double Potions was over, and after Charms, Hermione and Harry headed toward the great hall for lunch, though somehow it hadn't quite registered with Hermione that it was lunch until Harry said, "Hey, let's go check on Ron, see how he's feeling!"

Hermione wondered if Harry would be as happy to see Ron if he'd known that it was more than quite possible that he and Hermione had snogged the night before. At three in the morning. In the middle of a dangerous, thunderous storm. For who knows how long.

Hermione wasn't exactly ready when Harry abruptly opened the door to the seventh year boys' dorm; she felt rude having not knocked, for it was guy territory. It took her a moment that she was in the clear, being in the company of a, well, guy. 

"Hey, Ron, how're you feeling?" Harry asked, plopping into a chair next to Ron's nightstand. 

"Oh, hiya Harry. I've been feeling a little bit better. How was Potions?" he asked from behind his partially-closed bed curtains. Hermione, supposing he hadn't noticed her presence, turned to walk out the door.

"Herm, where're you off to?" Harry asked. Hermione turned her head to see Ron tense up under the covers. 

"Hermione?" he asked, peeking around the curtain, eye widened. Hermione gave him a half-smile. 

"Um, hello, feeling better?" she asked, trying hard to ignore the curious knot in her throat.

_Well, I was a second ago,_ he thought as he grinned politely.

"Um, yeah, I've been sleeping most of the morning, so at least I'm not devastatingly tired any more," he said, ignoring the curious knot in his throat. Harry looked at the clock on Ron's table and jumped up.

"Sorry guys, I promised Ginny I'd meet her in the library and help her study for her Potions exam. Herm, I'll see you in Transfiguration?" he asked, heading for the door. 

"Oh, yes, Transfiguration. I'll see you then," she said uneasily. It was lucky she turned her head away at that moment, because as he closed the door behind him, a furtive grin took over Harry's face that no one had witnessed.

Inside, Ron and Hermione sat through an awkward silence, Hermione staring out the window, twiddling her thumbs, thinking about the note he left but not wanting to mention it, and Ron watching and examining his bed curtains, wondering how long it would take to unravel each and every thread of each curtain. (And thinking about the note he left, but not wanting to ask if she'd received it, of course. But there's only so much activity in a boy's brain, and so can only focus on one thing at a time. Hence the curtains.) Finally, Hermione brought up the ever-inflicting occurrence.

"So, all of the outdoor classes were canceled from the storm last night," she said nonchalantly, looking at her nails. An indistinctive noise came out of Ron's throat.

"Really? There was—there was a storm last night?"

"Oh yes, McGonagall said it was so bad that it caused severe rain and lightening damage," she replied, sitting down on the end of his bed and relaxing a bit. Ron's face took on a look of distraught.

"Huh, that's pretty strange, isn't it? I mean, a storm happening right at the end of summer and all, the weather has been pretty warm lately, so it makes no sense for there to be a storm all of a sudden…," he rambled on, looking at Hermione and hoping he was making sense. Luckily, she smiled, so he must not have been doing too terribly.

"Oh yes, I agree, it makes no sense, no sense at all, really," she replied, agreeing unnecessarily. They both began nodding continuously, neither bothering to stop, because the whole thing was just so humorously awkward in the first place. 

Ron was thinking about his dream, and wondering if it had been real. He looked at Hermione, pondering it, when as though reading her mind she brought it up.

"Oh, by the way, you were in my dream last night," she said, desperate to quench the silence. And to stop nodding her head.

"Hmm, really? What kind of dream?" he asked. 

"Well…" she paused, wondering why on earth she mentioned it now, "it was um…well, there was a storm," she said cautiously.

"A storm? Kind of like the one that supposedly happened last night?" Ron asked, a little too eagerly.

"Well, yes, I suppose so. Anyway, in the dream, the storm woke me up, and as I was looking out the window, I saw you standing in the rain. It was quite strange, really, as I couldn't imagine why you'd ever want to stand outside in the middle of a horrible storm," she said, explaining it through serious thought and theory. 

"I-I was standing, out, in the rain?" he asked, chuckling a bit, but out of fear. _She's joking, right? _

"Yes, yes you were, I thought it was odd too! Anyway, I saw you outside and, in the dream, (she kept repeating that phrase as to remind him that this sort of thing would only happen unconsciously) I was rather afraid for your health, so I slipped my coat on over my nightgown to go after you," she said, blushing. Ron cocked his head to one side as he listened on.

"So I ran down the halls, down the stairs, and outside, and without a second thought I was chasing after you! It was crazy, really, because normally I don't go running out into storms on the middle of the night. But anyway, I couldn't find you, and I kept running deeper and deeper into the grounds when all of a sudden, there you were, as if you'd appeared out of nowhere, and I have to admit, I was quite spooked for a moment," she continued, at this point a bit breathless. Ron was now watching her, enthralled. 

"And then what happened?" he asked.

"Um, I uh, don't remember," she lied, looking away. If she had realized that he would, naturally, be interested in the rest of the (very, very embarrassing) dream, she might never have brought it up in the first place, but lo and behold, it was far too late for that now. 

"Are you serious? You don't remember the end of a dream like that? What, was I struck by lightning or something horrible like that?" he asked, knowing perfectly well what happened and almost daring her to tell it differently. If she said it, as it was, then he would know it had really happened, and if it had really happened, it would change everything. Because friends don't kiss friends like that. Not even the best of friends. She blushed lightly as she looked into his face.

"Look Ron, I honestly don't remember, because at that point Ginny came in and woke me up!" she cried, only slightly stretching the truth. Ron looked exasperated.

"'Mione, that was one of the best dreams I've ever had, and now you're ruining the ending, so just do me a favor and tell it like it really happened!" he exclaimed, hitting his hands on the bed next to him. Hermione gaped at him like a fish. 

"The best dream you've ever had? What do you mean, 'you've' had?" 

Ron stared at her, half terrified, half spellbound. It was curious how Hermione could, in one moment, scare him out of his mind, yet fascinate him, draw him to her. Hermione grew impatient, he could tell by the way her eyes narrowed and her brow lowered. There were no words, no excuses that fleeted into his mind that would correct his last statement, so he didn't bother trying. He shifted his weight onto his legs, then leaned forward, all the while keeping his eyes locked on hers. He very slowly slid toward her, extending his hand to the right side of her jaw, and almost smiled as her face took on a look of frightened confusion. Right as her lips were merely inches from his, he stopped.

"You give me a bit less credit in that dream than ought to be given, Hermione."

Without another word, he relieved the tense air between them and pressed his lips to hers. A small, squeak-like noise released itself from Hermione's throat, but after a second, she felt her eyes close. Ron placed his other hand on the unoccupied side of her jaw, pulling her closer and deeper into the embrace. He could almost hear the rain again, pounding down on them and everything surrounding them. Hermione's hands were gripping the knees of Ron's pajama pants rather tightly, but neither of them really noticed. They were too busy lost in each other, lost in the moment that seemed to last forever…

Or three minutes and 48 seconds. 

Hermione opened her eyes to see why Ron had stopped. Surely this too was not another dream, she thought frantically. She looked at his eyes and, noticing his gaze was somewhere behind her, turned her head to look. Harry and Ginny were standing in the doorway, looking as though evil trolls had just come and stolen Christmas.

"Look, I know what you're thinking--" Hermione began.

"It's not what it looks like--" Ron blurted.

Ron and Hermione blushed like tomatoes, not realizing they were still holding onto each other. Ginny grinned awkwardly, as if to say that, while she was definitely, genuinely happy for the two of them, something had gone terribly, terribly wrong.

"You guys, it's fine. Yes, I'm definitely, genuinely happy for the two of you, but something is terribly, terribly wrong," she said with a grimace.

"Ron, I think you'd better get dressed and go downstairs… Padma's downstairs in the common room, looking for you."

Hee hee hee…

Review! Or else you'll never find out what happens next…

I know, I'm cruel, I had to go and ruin their moment. Again! I'll make it up to you, I promise, but only if I get lots of reviews!!


	13. What Goes Around, Gets Around

A/N: Guys, I am so sorry I didn't get to post this sooner, but I killed my laptop's power supply and couldn't use it for like a week. Sorry!! My bad. Anyway, here's the next chapter for you all…don't think it's over yet, it has really juuuust begun…heeheehee. Anyway, enjoy!!

Lauren

Disclaimer: no, I'm not British, blond, married, a mother, a genius, one of the richest women in the world, nor am I even past the age of 20 yet! So no, I'm sorry to say, I am not JK, nor do I own any of these…wonderful, wonderful characters. Sorry.

Chapter Thirteen

What Goes Around…Gets Around

"Padma, we need--"

"Ron, I have something I need to talk to you about," Padma said, interrupting. Ron looked at her quizzically, but followed silently as she led him out of the common room and into the halls.

Hermione let out a small sigh. She, Harry and Ginny were crouched along the banister at the top of the staircase. Well, the girls were. Harry had said something about not wanting to engage in such girly, gossip-inducing activities, and so stood by the door of his dorm, pretending rather stubbornly not to listen. 

Ginny looked over at Hermione with a curious look. Watching her twirl a curl around her finger, a mischievous grin took over her face, and she stepped up and into the boys' dorm. She returned quickly with Harry's cloak and a look on her face that quite resembled one from Fred or George's stash. Harry immediately shook his head and turned away.

"No, no no no, there is no way we're going to spy on them. I won't do it," he said, throwing his hands in the air.

"Harry, come on, for Hermione's sake, I mean this must be killing her, right Herm?" she asked, looking at Hermione with certainty in her eyes. Hermione looked down at the floor.

"Actually, I think I'm going to go read the Potions assignment. I'll be in the library if anybody needs me…" she said, her voice trailing off as she descended the stairs. She had a feeling, a very bad feeling that the results of whatever talk was going on right now would not be in her favor, so she decided to try and make the best of it. Ginny looked at Harry sadly; instead of rubbing it in, he gave her a weak smile and slid his arm around her shoulder.

"Ron, I've been doing some thinking, and I think…well, I think that…" Padma started, avoiding Ron's eyes. They were taking a walk around the lake, the same place their whole relationship had started. Ron felt his feet drudge against the ground, not willing to put any extra effort in moving them. He was not in the best of moods, and he wasn't going out of his way to hide it either.

"Padma, you don't like me any more, do you?" he asked, more hopefully than knowingly. Padma twitched a little, her eyes widening at his question.

"Um, well, see, it's not that I don't like you, it's just that, I um, well," she tried, feeling herself growing unnecessarily nervous. Ron smiled a little.

"Look, we shouldn't keep doing this. It's just not…working," he said, realizing at the last moment that he wasn't sounding very gentle, but just wanting to get it over with. And after he said it, he felt relief at saying what he'd been feeling for the past three weeks. Padma chuckled, and was finally able to look him in the eye.

"You're right, we shouldn't. I couldn't agree more with you. I hope you don't take it personally, I just…well, it's having a boyfriend that's bothering me, you know?" she said. Ron nodded, not really listening. It was over; he was free, free to…well, free to do whatever, really. Free to be with his friends, free to breathe, free to see Hermione again…

"Yeah, I understand. I'm glad we had this talk. Um, not to sound rude, but would you mind if--"

"Padma! Padma, wait up!" came a voice behind them. The two spun around to see none other than Michael Corner approaching them. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Padma blush and bat her eyelashes.

"Oh, hi Michael," she said, sickeningly breathless in Ron's opinion. _Boy, he sure does get around…_ he though, smiling politely.

"Hi, um, are you busy?" he asked, eyeing Ron suspiciously.

"Oh, no, um…you don't mind, right Ron?" 

"Oh no, by all means, please, have fun," he said with a fatherly smile. Padma grinned broadly and hurried off, thanking Ron over her shoulder. 

Ron returned to the common room an hour later, hands in his pockets and head full of thoughts. He had, after Padma's departure, taken a stroll on his on around the grounds, and had, for the first time, taken in every leaf on the grass and every stir in the air. He wondered what he would say to Hermione now; everything that came to mind fell short of how he felt, as though he couldn't express his feelings in any word imaginable. Where to start? _Hermione, kissing you is like eating my mum's cooking, there's nothing like it…_

Of course he would think of food at a time like this. He finally decided to give up and, on his way back to the common room, had walked in a trance in an attempt to recreate that kiss in his mind. But this time, he tried to focus on everything that had been going on around them: what had been going on outside the window? Where had Trevor been sleeping? Had Pigwidgeon been hungry at the time? Thought it sounds strange, it really helped enhance the whole thing itself; being able to imagine everything clearly meant he could imagine the kiss more clearly. 

He saw Harry and Ginny sitting in the corner, huddling over a book of some sort, probably more Shakespeare, to Ron's guess. He gave them a small wave as they looked over at him and continued up the stairs. He sat on his bed and, looking outside, began feeling oddly sleepy. Maybe it was a continued state of his trance, or possibly the heat in the dorm, but he found his head on his pillow and a heavy weight over his eyes, and seconds later, he was fast asleep.

Hermione sat alone at a table in the back of the library, writing Potions notes to herself, and every so often, notes concerning Ron as well.

_Well, maybe he told her the truth, and they both hate me,_ one read.

_Or maybe he pushed him into the lake, and he's drowned, _another read. _He never was that great of a swimmer._

_Is writing notes to one's self considered a sign of insanity? _the last read, before she scratched it out with her pen.

She closed her book and sighed hopelessly. It had been nearly six hours already, and no sign or word from Ron. She had gotten through the whole Potions book three times before she gave up and looked for other Potions reading. She glanced up at the clock for the third time in twenty minutes and immediately cursed herself for doing so. It was pointless; he wasn't going to come find her, and he certainly wasn't going to bless her with the good news of the end of his horrible relationship, and he most definitely wasn't going to come sweep her up in his arms and carry her away to embrace her in the same sweet way he had earlier. She looked out the window and examined the clouds, wondering if there would be another storm that night. She almost dreaded the idea, as it could only bring her more torment. 

She slowly gathered herself and got ready to leave when she heard someone clear their throat behind her. Spinning around, she was faced with a boy she'd only seen a couple times before, but who she recognized as a seventh year Hufflepuff. He looked about six feet tall, had impeccable posture, and wore brown-rimmed glasses that matched his neatly trimmed hair and shielded his hazel eyes. When she looked at him, he gave her a one-sided grin.

"Hi. I couldn't help but notice that you were reading extra Potions reading," he said, in a way he thought was adorably obvious. Hermione looked down at the books in her hands.

"Oh, yeah, um…I got a little bored," she said, wondering what it was he was getting at.

"Oh, I'm Daniel, by the way. Daniel Thompson," he said, offering her his hand. She hesitated, but placed her hand in his and shook it politely.

"Um, Hermione. Hermione Granger," she said awkwardly. _What is this all about?_

"I was wondering if you would mind helping me. With Potions, that is. I've noticed you seem to be rather good at it, and I'm, well, to put it mildly, absolutely horrible at it," he said, chuckling in hopes to hide the slight blush spreading across his cheeks. Hermione couldn't help but grin; he had a strange cuteness about him.

"Well, sure, I don't see why not, although to be honest with you, I may have trouble finding the time to do it. I've got honors classes, and Head Girl duties, so if we could find time between those, I suppose it would work," she said. 

"Sure, that's fine," Daniel said, smiling gratefully. "And just so you know, I'd be willing to compensate you for it, so whatever you want in exchange, it's yours. I don't want you thinking I'm just taking advantage of you or anything, I mean I know you've got so much else to deal with, so I don't want to be a burden or anything," he said, speaking sternly and adjusting his glasses. 

"No, no, it'll be fine, don't worry about it. What if tonight I work out my schedule and see when we can meet, and I'll let you know tomorrow? We could meet in here at lunch maybe, if you'd like."

"That sounds great. Tomorrow then?" he asked.

"Yes, see you tomorrow."

"Great, thank you so much," he said, and with a grin he turned around and headed back to his table by the Muggle research section. She smiled after him and, after he sat down, made her way out of the library, wondering what on earth gave her the idea she'd have time, between everything else she was doing, to tutor Daniel, someone she barely knew, in a subject she could barely stand.

Ron sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes groggily. He looked over at the clock and felt his eyes try to jump out of their sockets. It was nearly 8:30 and he had been sleeping for quite some time. He got up and walked over to the window, where he stretched his arms out over his head and looked out onto the lake, where the giant squid was spraying water onto a bunch of third years. He tried to think back to what he'd been doing before he dozed off, but his mind was too cloudy with thoughts of the kiss. Remembering Hermione, he stuck his hands in his pockets and headed downstairs to find her.

She was sitting in front of the fire, reading something very much not Potions (thank Merlin) and tapping her foot to an imaginary beat. He stood a few feet behind her for a moment, questioning whether he should approach her, when she answered for him.

"Ron, don't just stand there. Either sit down or leave, but don't stand in the middle of the room thinking I can't tell you're there," she said, not looking up. 

Ron stared at the back of her head, but did as he was told and took a seat next to her. 

"How'd you know I was there?" he asked, looking over to see what she was reading; it was a Charms assignment.

"Ron, I could see your shadow on the floor," she stated, trying not to smile, but failing.

"Oh, right, of course. So…what's new?" he asked, glancing at the floor.

"Nothing really, I've just been studying all day, to nobody's surprise," she said, finishing a sentence and resting her quill in her lap. She looked up at Ron curiously.

"Are you all right?" she asked him. "You look a little…I don't know, tired maybe, or upset, or in a daze."

"Do I? Hmm. Well no, nothing's wrong. Well, nothing really. I've just been having some…inner turmoil lately, is all."

"Inner turmoil?" she asked, chuckling sweetly. "Turmoil like what?"

"Nothing. It doesn't matter now," he said evasively. Hermione frowned, but went back to her Charms. Ron looked at his feet as though they were suddenly interesting and began studying his shoes.

"So, how's Padma?" she asked, and she instantly dreaded asking it. Ron didn't look up from the floor.

"Oh, she's fine. Probably off somewhere snogging Michael Corner, I'd imagine," he said with a sly smile. Hermione's mouth fell open slightly, which made Ron smile a little wider.

"Michael Corner? But wasn't he just with that Hufflepuff girl? What was her name…" she asked, searching her brain.

"Catherine? Yeah, and before that it was Susan, and before that, Cho," he said, almost laughing. Hermione frowned.

"Well, he sure gets around," she said, making Ron grin.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I thought too."

They both grinned, both trying not to bring up that morning, and a new question popped into Hermione's head.

"So that means um, no more Padma?"

Ron looked a little startled by her question, but nodded his head all the same. Hermione made an affirmative noise and lowered her head almost mournfully.

"I'm sorry about that," said Hermione, hoping she sounded or at least looked appropriately sympathetic, but finding it a little difficult.

"Oh no, it's fine; in fact, I, well, technically anyway, was the one who broke up with her, so it looks like we both turned out all right," he said, twiddling his fingers. Hermione looked up at him.

"Oh? So you broke up with her…I see," she said, looking away and into the fire. "Um, I hope you don't mind me asking, but…why?"

Ron looked at her, eager to spill the truth, but cautious to reveal himself. He paused a second in thought before answering.

"Well, I suppose that was part of my inner turmoil. I had to find a way to fix it, so I did." Telling by the look on Hermione's face, Ron figured he'd let her in on a little more. 

"I guess you could say I felt…forced, into the relationship. I did like her, I'll admit, but it was only for about five minutes, and that was when she did my Divination assignment. But really," he said, laughing at the mixed expression on Hermione's face, "it didn't ever really feel right, you know? Like it was nice having a girlfriend, but everytime I looked over and it wasn't--"

Ron stopped himself from admitting that every time he'd looked over, he'd hoped more and more to see Hermione next to him and not Padma. He looked at Hermione and saw that her eyes were fighting back excitement, but he couldn't do it.

"Wasn't—what?" she encouraged. 

"Well, wasn't—well, just that she wasn't someone I'd hope to see, that's all. Just wasn't the right person. And when I realized that, it all seemed like a burden, and it was making me a bit crazy. So I feel a bit better about that."

Hermione felt guilty; she was the one who had pushed him to her in the first place. She offered him a genuinely sympathetic smile and brushed a stray hair out of his eyes. Looking at his watch, she noticed the time and realized she had to finish her homework, and also that Ron probably hadn't even started his. She leaned back into her chair and picked up her quill.

"Ron, how's your progress on your Charms?" she asked softly, trying not to seem too motherly.

"Oh, funny you should uh, mention that," he said, and after telling her he'd return, he ran upstairs and retrieved his books. The two sat in silence, both feeling tired, but glad to have the excuse of unfinished homework to keep them in each other's company. Every now and then, they stole glances at each other until finally, at around midnight, Hermione could no longer keep her eyes open. She packed up her bag and stared at Ron until he noticed, and turned to her.

"What is it, Mione?" he asked. It had been so long since he called her that that it seemed to her like the first time, and even though it was just a name, she felt like it was a little more personal, a little more affectionate, a little more sweet. She gave him a sleepy smile.

"I don't know about you, but I'm absolutely exhausted. I'm off to bed, and I suggest you consider doing the same," she said, stifling a yawn. Ron heeded her suggestion and slipped his folded paper into a notebook. Hermione stood up and, taking advantage of the opportunity, wrapped her arms around his neck while he was still sitting; at this level, she could still reach him. She lowered her head to his and pecked him on the top of his head, while Ron strained, resisting as best he could putting his arms around her waist. The same smell washed over him that did that night only a couple months ago, when they became friends again…but he couldn't place it. He knew, somewhere inside him, that he knew what it was, but he simply could not think of how…

"Goodnight, Ron. Don't stay up too late. Sweet dreams."

She held him a few seconds longer, then picked up her bag, tossed it over her shoulder, and headed up the stairs. Ron's eyes followed her all the way to the top, until she closed the door behind her, and he sighed heavily. He looked back into the fire as thoughts of Hermione remained lingering in his mind.

Heehee, you know you guys liked it, admit it! I liked it! Wait…you mean, that doesn't automatically make you guys like it? Oh…well, do you think maybe, it's possible you liked it just a little bit even? Please? Review and let me know!!!! I won't update until I see some reviews, and lots of 'em…mwahahaha…


	14. Birthday Blues

A/N: Hey guys! Okay, I'm really sorry this took so long to update, but I couldn't, for the life of me, get any ideas for this chapter whatsoever! So finally, I got it done, and here it is…if it's awkward in places, that's cause I had trouble earlier today, and then later I really got into it and it got better, but I didn't get to go back to some places and rewrite them, so…yeah, okay then! Overall, I think it should be all right. If not, I apologize profusely! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this one! It's a little bit sweet, a little bit sappy, a little bit sad, and a little bit happy…but not particularly in that order. Btw, I didn't make that rhyme on purpose, sorry about that. It just happened that way! Well guys, enjoy, and make sure to review!!!

Lauren

Disclaimer: If I were JK, I'd seriously be plotting to take over the world right now, instead of writing this crap, all right? I'd have so much else to be doing with my time than sitting here on my floor, writing on a little black laptop!! 

Chapter Fourteen

Birthday Blues

Hermione raised her arms over her head, stretching them out above her headboard and yawning graciously. It was about two thirty in the morning, and she was working out the remains of a Transfiguration report and looking through Potions notes, planning out the first lesson she would give Daniel. It turned out he needed more help than any Remedial Potions class could ever give him, and so Hermione had taken it into her hands to do all she could, including re-teaching him specific lessons. After looking at the clock, she reluctantly shut her books and rolled up her parchment, and placed them on the table next to her bed. She began to reach over to blow out her candle when something occurred to her. Something rather important, that somehow she hadn't really noticed before that moment…

"Oh wow, today's my birthday," she spoke aloud, in awe.

She looked around the room, as though seeing it for the first time, and in a way, she was, for she was seeing it for the first time at seventeen. After a second, she shook herself out of her little trance. She thought for a moment. She didn't exactly feel any older, or look any older, or think any older, so who was to say she had really gotten any older? She pondered this for a while before letting her tired eyelids get the best of her and, after making a small birthday wish on the flame, blew out the candle and shut her eyes.

Ron sat on his bed, tending to a small package sitting in front of his crossed legs. After a few quick flicks of his wrists, he looked proudly down upon a perfectly tied bow. He gave it a small grin, and then, having noticed the time on the clock, stuffed it in his bag and flung it over his shoulder. He then stood up and proceeded making his way downstairs, checking himself in the mirror quickly and shutting the door behind him.

Downstairs, he met Hermione, Harry, and Ginny sitting on one of the couches, and it appeared that Hermione had a lap full of presents. Harry looked up as Ron entered.

"Morning Ron," he said, moving over so that Ron could sit. 

"Hey Hermione, happy birthday!" he shouted, ignoring Harry and walking over to her. Harry rolled his eyes as Hermione stood up and threw her arms around his neck.

"Thanks Ron…"

"Sorry Harry, you understand. It's not everyday your best friend turns seventeen!" he said, laughing. Hermione grinned broadly, knowing what was coming next.

"Oh! Well, I never! I see how it is, Ron. Fine. Humph," Harry said, mock hurt in his voice.

Ron held his arm out, and Hermione smiled, placing her arm through his. The foursome headed out the portrait hole and continued down to the great hall, chatting happily. Inside, they took their usual spots at the Gryffindor table and began eating.

"Oh, well look at this…Mudblood's all grown up, is she?"

Harry and Ron turned around to face Malfoy, who had somehow made the trip over without the help and company of his two lame cronies. 

"Sorry Malfoy, but have you lost your way? Slytherin, I think, is still over there on the other side of the hall," came Ron's cold voice.

Malfoy gave him a menacing sneer. He opened his mouth to retort when Hermione suddenly turned around in her seat and faced him. The look on her face was one he had never seen used in his presence before, and that surprise was enough to shut him up.

"Hmm. Malfoy, do you think I could have a word with you…in private?" she asked calmly. Malfoy raised an eyebrow.

"In private? Well, um," he said, chuckling slightly, "what would I possibly want to discuss with you? Tips on becoming a _real_ wizard, instead of just a phony mudblood?"

"I have a proposition that may be of some interest to you, that's all," she replied, slowly (and overtly) looking him up and down and stressing the word interest. Malfoy choked a little, noticing a brief glint in her eye. After readjusting his tie, he cleared his throat.

"Um, well, fine. But you'd better not be wasting my time," he said, covering up, and he began walking away.

Hermione winked furtively at Ron, then stood up and followed Malfoy out of the great hall. Ron and Harry exchanged curious glances, and Harry returned to his breakfast while Ron's eyes lingered on the hall exit where they turned the corner.

Ten minutes later, Hermione returned, a bit of a smug grin on her face, and took her seat next to Ron. Without a word, she resumed eating her breakfast, unable to get rid of her smile. Looking back at the entrance to the great hall, Harry could see Malfoy walking back to his table, the same smug grin on his face as well. The others looked over at her, waiting, pressing her to explain, but this notion went unnoticed…for a few moments anyway.

"Yes?" she asked, looking up at them finally.

"Well, go on then, what was that all about?" Ron asked, half amused and half peeved. Hermione smiled again, reaching for the pumpkin juice.

"Oh, that. Nothing, really, just having a chat with Malfoy, that's all."

"About what?" Ginny pressed, speaking for the first time that morning.

"Nothing important, I promise! We were just planning a secret rendezvous for later tonight, that's all." She immediately hid her grin behind her glass of pumpkin juice.

Hermione could tell the reactions by looking at their faces: Ginny could barely suppress her giggles, even after she'd buried her face in her hands; Harry's eyebrows disappeared into his mass of black, disheveled hair; Ron's face looked as though someone stuck a large block of ice down his back and was holding it there, never to be released. After a moment, she composed herself and continued eating normally, as though she were discussing the weather, and everyone else remained completely motionless. Well, except Ginny, who was rocking back and forth in laughter.

"Hermione, tell me you're joking," Harry said, finally speaking up. 

"No, actually, I'm not," she said honestly.

"What do you mean, you're not joking?" Ron cried. "What exactly is supposed to be happening during this, erm, rendezvous?" he asked, choking on that last word. 

"Well, see, there's an interesting question, because there are two different answers, depending on who you ask. I will give you quite a different answer than he would give you," she said, nodding in Malfoy's direction. Ginny looked at her quizzically.

"Look, are you going to tell us what happened or not? Any longer, and Ron may explode," Ginny said, amused. "Or turn into a tomato, and _then_ explode. Maybe we should keep watching and find out." Ron would have scowled at her had his mouth not been hanging open in shock.

"Alright, alright. Well, Malfoy and I arranged to meet later to um, get to know each other better, I suppose you could say," Hermione said, blushing the instant the words left her mouth. Ron and Harry's eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets.

"Look, nothing's going to happen, keep your pants on," she said, suddenly harsh. "He's just going to get something he's had coming a very, _very_ long time," she said, and Ron saw some kind of determination he'd never seen in her before, and he felt very, very afraid.

"Well, I guess we should stay on your good side then, shouldn't we Ron?" Harry said, chuckling, though even part of him was terrified of her.

"Oh, speaking of good sides, we should probably head upstairs and get our things for Potions," Hermione noted. Attempting to get Ron to close his mouth, she stuck one last bite of toast in his mouth and got to her feet. Ron stood up and, as though feeling it's presence for the first time, began moving his mouth up and down, rediscovering the wonderful benefits of chewing. He followed after Hermione, still in shock, but at least able to move his legs, which was more than he could say for past experiences. Harry followed after Ron, leaving Ginny in their wake, who was doing all she could to fight back continuous laughter.

Eventually, they all went back to normal, and were able to hold normal conversation while they walked to the common room, retrieved their bags, and headed back down to class. They said goodbye to Ginny at the third floor staircase and continued leisurely down to the dungeons. It was just as they were about to descend the last staircase that someone spoke from behind them, calling out Hermione's name. She turned around quickly, and when she did, she smiled, slightly taken aback. Someone was standing at the end of the hall, carrying a rather large bunch of flowers.

"Daniel! Hi, um, what are you doing here?" she asked, noticing immediately a strange awkwardness in the situation. This was only made worse by Ron clearing his throat rather loudly, but she chose to ignore this.

"Oh, um, I heard that you had potions first period, and so I thought I'd surprise you and give you your present," he said, approaching her. As he drew nearer, he held out the bouquet in front of him. 

"I picked them from one of the greenhouses. We've been working on them in Herbology, and I thought you might like some of mine," he said as she reached out and took them. From far away, they had appeared to be normal roses, but as she observed them closely she realized that they were each a different color, and most were colors she had never seen on a rose before: violet, navy, lime green, powder blue…they were breathtaking. 

"Um, Daniel, you didn't have to do this, you know," she said.

"Oh, I know, but I figured since you were going out of your way to help me and being so nice that you might like them, so…"

Ron rolled his eyes, but thankfully, Daniel didn't notice. Probably because he was looking so hopefully into Hermione's face.

"Oh, um, this is Ron, and that's Harry," she said, filling in the odd silence. They silently shook hands, Ron trying not to squeeze Daniel's too hard.

"Well, thank you Daniel, that's really sweet of you. These are beautiful, really, thank you," she said, lowering her face a little to smell them. Daniel beamed.

"You're welcome. I'll see you later then?" 

"Right, later, in the library." She smiled gratefully and, after Daniel waved goodbye and took off, ran a finger along the petal of one of the roses. Harry would have bet ten galleons on what was going to happen next, but he stayed silent, watching the floor steadily.

"So, uh, who's he?" Ron asked, obviously working hard to control himself.

"Oh, Daniel? He's just a seventh year Hufflepuff I met in the library the other night," she said turning back around and continuing the walk to class. "He uh, asked me to help him with Potions, so…" she trailed off. 

"Oh, I see. Well, that's nice," he said, as he and Harry caught up with her. "So he uh, knew it was your birthday then? That's pretty good for having just met him."

"Yes, that is interesting, isn't it? I don't recall mentioning anything to him about it. That is a bit strange…oh well. They are pretty, aren't they?" she asked, handing them over to Ron. He took them stiffly and rolled his eyes again.

"Oh yes, simply marvelous," he said, dropping his hands to his sides. They reached the end of the hallway and, one by one, headed through the door and continued to the back of the noisy, occupied room. They set down their things and Ron, not knowing what else to do, laid the roses out on the desk in front of him, stealing glances at them every few seconds.

A great hush fell over the room as Snape entered, as sullen and bitter as ever. Dumping his belongings onto his desk, he took a look at the room around him, and just as his eyes roamed over the back of the room, they were caught by something rather interesting. A small, almost evil grin played on his lips as he took a little walk over to the back.

"Mr. Weasley, I see you've gotten so desperate as to start selling roses at school, hoping to earn a bit of pocket money…" he said cuttingly. Ron felt his face grow hot, but stared fixedly at the microscopic dents in the desk, no doubt made from the countless errors experienced while creating potions. 

"Or maybe they're from a special someone?" he asked skeptically. "Hmm, well, I suppose the mystery of it all would be who on earth would care enough to send you a bouquet of roses." The Slytherins all chuckled appreciatively, making sure to all look at Ron while laughing. 

"Well, Mr. Weasley, are your pretty little flowers going to be a distraction during my class, or will I have to throw this lovely display of curious affection in the trash can?"

"No, sir," Ron replied, feeling his ears burning. His lips were turning red from him pressing them together. Hermione caught a glimpse of him from the corner of her eye and saw the embarrassment hidden in his eyes. She reached under the desk slowly and took his hand in hers, squeezing it gently. After a second, Ron squeezed back, and for the rest of class, he didn't let go.

After the Malfoy incident, and the Daniel incident, and then the Snape incident, it was quite understandable why Ron was having second thoughts about giving Hermione his gift. It wasn't that she didn't deserve it; in fact, he wanted more than anything to give it to her and to see her reaction. But after today, and with Daniel and the roses, he figured she wouldn't even look twice at his gift, for it would pale horribly in comparison. Sitting on his bed, he twirled the box between two fingers, watching the bow as it blurred from spinning, and recalling the sight of those roses. It was true, they were pretty, and that meant that Daniel obviously cared enough if he went through the trouble of giving her his Herbology assignment. And what's more, they smelled really wonderful. He could imagine Hermione sitting on her bed right that moment, sniffing away and dreaming wistful thoughts of Daniel. It made him sick. He laid his head back and looked up at the ceiling, wondering what was going on through her head, when he heard the knob click and the door swing open.

"Ron, you okay?" came Harry's voice.

"Yeah, my stomach's just acting a bit funny, that's all," Ron said, glad he wasn't looking Harry in the face; it was easier to lie that way.

"Oh, alright then. Does that mean you won't be coming down to dinner? I think, if I heard correctly, Dobby made her a cake…maybe it's just me, but it sounds really rather interesting. I wonder if there's socks in it…" Harry's voice trailed off as he descended the stairs, leaving the door open behind him, and Ron felt he had no choice but to go; it was his best friend's birthday, after all. But would she really even notice if he didn't go? He wondered about this before realizing there was already somebody else at the door.

"Ron, are you all right?"

Ron looked up, and though she may not have noticed it, Hermione's appearance really had changed. It was nothing physical about her that was different; she still had those big, brown eyes and that long, curly hair. It was something more metaphysical than that. Something about the way she moved, the way she breathed, the way she spoke…she nearly glowed just existing. And now she was asking him if he was all right…yeah, he was all right. Of course he was all right.

"Oh, yeah, um…just laying down for a bit, but I'm getting up now."

"Oh, okay. It seemed as though you were going to miss dinner, and since that's a bit of a rare occurrence, I wanted to make sure it wasn't because something was wrong," she said, trying to keep a straight face. Ron felt a smile appear on his lips, as though even if he hadn't wanted to, it would have showed up there anyway. He gave her a mockingly offended look and got up, walking over to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, and leading her downstairs.

"Me, miss dinner? Not when I hear there's sock cake on the menu…" 

Okay guys, review!! I know you want to!! I hope you all liked this one, I know it was kind of all over the charts, but…oh well, that's life! Please review, or I'll really start making sock cakes and pass them off as real cakes…none of you wants to bite into a sock cake, trust me. Review!!


	15. Another One Bites the Dust

A/N: YAY!!! Thank you guys so much for getting me to the 300 mark! You have no idea how excited that makes me! Thank you all so much! I love you all like a fat kid loves cake! (Okay, so I've been listening to too much 50 Cent…what can I say?) Alright, so here's the next chapter for you guys, and I hope you like it. Make sure to review when you're done!!

Lauren

Disclaimer: Disclaimers are stupid. Like I would actually ever try to pass off my work as JK's. I'm not stupid, you know. 

Okay, so maybe a little bit. But I'm not that stupid.

Okay, so I am that stupid, but I've been told not to do it, so I won't. So there.

All right, well, that's not the point anyway. The point is, I'm not JK. And I'm too stupid to own any of these characters. 

Humph. 

Chapter Fifteen

Another One Bites the Dust

"Ron, tell me when Malfoy comes in."

They were seated at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall: Ron was next to Hermione, who was across from Harry, who was next to Ginny. Ron looked slyly over Hermione's right shoulder, carefully catching a glimpse of the doorway: no sign of him yet.

"Okay, wait, Hermione, remind me again what the plan is exactly?" Harry said, mindful to swallow his mouthful of Shepard's pie before he spoke. "Because I don't think I quite understand…how are you getting back at Malfoy?"

"Well, you see, Malfoy is under the impression that, during our meeting in the Room of Requirement, I'm going to profess my undying lust for him, after which I assume he'll do something of the same. Now, when this happens, I'm simply going to…well, I can't give it away, that would ruin the whole surprise!" 

Ron growled, frustrated, but Hermione just turned and smiled in his face. Harry cleared his throat and glanced at Ginny, who was, again, sniggering into her palms. Ron rolled his eyes and stole another glance over Hermione's shoulder. Just then, Crabbe walked in, followed by Goyle, which meant Malfoy was only a few seconds behind. 

"Well, Mione, surprise away. He's about to walk in," he said, nodding his head in the direction of the doorway. Hermione straightened up instantly and put down her cup. Ginny's eyebrows rose to the middle of her forehead as Hermione looked up at her. They locked eyes for a moment, exchanging a silent glance of understanding. Ginny nodded as if to wish her good luck, and Hermione nodded back. She stood up, winked at Harry, and gave Ron a comforting rub on his shoulder. He looked up at her, giving her a weak smile; she returned it three-fold, reaching her hand out to hold his face and gently stroking his cheek. He felt his face growing warm, and worried she would notice, but she let go just in time. They watched as she strutted her way over to the Slytherin table, Ginny resuming her giggling, and Harry and Ron exchanging wondering looks.

From the table, they could see her bent over, speaking to Malfoy from behind him, whispering into his ear. After a moment, Malfoy turned around, glanced at the two idiots seated next to him on both sides, and nodded his head toward the door. Hermione straightened up, looked once more at him, and walked, slowly, down the pass and into the entrance hall. 

Malfoy turned to Crabbe (or, at least, they thought it was Crabbe, but these days it was impossible to tell him and Goyle apart), spoke a few words, then stood up and made his way into the entrance hall as well. 

Ginny's face was, at this point, burning red. She was laughing so hard she looked like she might have just spontaneously combusted at any second. Ron looked down at his plate uneasily, trying to ignore the odd rumbling in his stomach. 

"Hey, you guys, look," Harry said suddenly. Ron looked up, and Ginny uncovered her eyes, which were now filled with tears she was laughing so hard. 

"Hello, Master Harry Potter! Where is Hermione?" came a small, squeaky voice from a few feet below them.

Dobby was standing at the end of the table, carrying a cake so large it successfully hid his entire face from view—ears included. He was only recognizable by the large feet that seemed to extend from the bottom of the beautifully decorated cake. 

"Hello Dobby!" Harry said, reaching out his hands. "Would you like some help with that?"

"Oh, still after all this time, Harry Potter is so kind! Thank you, Harry Potter, thank you," he responded, clasping his hands together in joy as Harry set the cake down on the table. "Dobby is so glad to be seeing Master Potter and his friends, the Wheezys."

"Well, we're glad to see you too, Dobby," Ron said, cheering up quite a bit. It was a bit hard staying so glum when there was a gorgeous cake sitting in front of him.

"But where is Hermione? We cannot sing happy birthday unless the birthday girl is here."

Ron, Ginny, and Harry exchanged awkward glances. 

"Well, she's um…she went to, uh, well, you see…"

"I think she uh, went upstairs to uh, you know, get something…"

"She's probably in the loo, she told me she had to use the bathroom before we sat down…"

Dobby shrugged his shoulders, his eyes downcast. 

"Oh well, Dobby will have to wish her a happy birthday later," he said, and with a lackadaisical grin, he turned around to leave. Harry gave Ginny a sad look and was just about to comment on how sweet it was he had baked her a cake when they heard a shrill shriek from the hallway. 

"What the—"

Hermione entered the Great Hall about ten seconds later, tossing her hair nonchalantly over one shoulder. She made her way over to the table and, before she could even sit down, noticed the cake sitting on the table. 

"Hermione, what the bloody hell—" Ron started.

"Miss Hermione, happy birthday!"

"Oh, Dobby, you made this for me?" she asked, looking down at the small house-elf. 

"Yes, Dobby hopes you don't mind, it wasn't much work at all, and we enjoyed doing it!" he said in his most cheerful voice, hoping she would be swayed. Hermione frowned slightly.

"I believe you Dobby, though honestly, you shouldn't have done it. I mean, there are so many other things you could have been doing that would have been more productive, like reading maybe, or working on your socks, or possibly sitting in front of the fire or something recreational—"

"What she really means to say 'thank you'," Ron said lightly. Hermione looked at him crossly.

"No, I'm serious, there's lots of other things—I'm sorry, Dobby," she said, stopping because of the look Ron was giving her. "I'm sorry. It's beautiful, I love it. Thank you so much."

Dobby smiled, a tear building up in his eye. He grabbed her around her legs and hugged them tightly, seemingly unable to let her go, until finally Harry had to come around and pry his hands free.

"Dobby's sorry, sir, just so overwhelmed! She likes the cake! But Miss Hermione, you has to try it!"

Hermione sat down, picked up the knife next to her plate, and cut a medium-sized slice. She picked up her own plate (as it was the only one clean) and plopped the cake onto it, watching it carefully before she decided to dig her fork into it. (She hadn't forgotten the sock cake rumor…)

Without hesitation, she stuck the fork in her mouth. The others watched her, waiting for her reaction, Dobby rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. After a moment, Hermione smiled.

"Dobby, this is delicious!" she cried, putting down her fork to cut some more slices. Soon, everyone was devouring their own slice of cake happily, and Dobby was nearly in tears. 

"Dobby is so glad you like it, miss!"

It turned out it was not a sock cake, much to Ron and Harry's disappointment. However, it was the best chocolate cake any of them had ever tasted in their lives, which, in their eyes, was just as wonderful.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Okay, Hermione, so where did he go off to then? You returned, yet he didn't…what's going on?" Harry asked, once they had finished their cake and Dobby had left.

"Oh…well, it appeared as though he needed some ice, and so I prompted him to go see Madame Pomfrey as quickly as possible. I suppose he just heeded my advice, although to be honest he may just still be laying there on the floor, writhing around like an idiot," she answered, shrugging. Ron's face turned pale as his eyes jumped out of their sockets. Ginny stared at Hermione, speechless, and suddenly burst out laughing, while Harry crossed his legs uncomfortably and felt a knot form in his throat. And Hermione just smiled and continued pouring herself a glass of pumpkin juice.

"Oh, is that what that scream was then? It sounded like someone strangling a hippogriff!" Ginny said, gesticulating and grasping the air as an example, in case no one knew what strangling a hippogriff would look like.

Hermione laughed, but Harry and Ron were silent, looking as though they'd seen a ghost. Ron turned to her, looking extremely appalled. 

"Hermione, you can't just go around…doing that to people," Ron said, regaining his composure but not enough to be able to comfortably address the situation; as he spoke, his cheeks turned red and he stuttered just thinking about it. Harry nodded in agreement, still too stunned to speak. Ginny, however, applauded her bravery.

"It's about bloody time someone did something. Bravo, Herm, bravo!" she said, clapping softly. Hermione straightened up.

"Well, you're absolutely right, Ginny, which is why I did it. You both," she indicated the boys, "know I wouldn't normally go around doing that! He just deserved it, that's all." 

Ron looked at her, still surprised, but smiling.

"Well, you are full of surprises, aren't you?"

"Ron, aren't you going to get any work done? It's eight thirty and you haven't even started on anything."

Hermione leaned to her side to look over at Ron, who was lounging comfortably in the chair next to her. The fire was so warm and comfortable in the common room that Ron found it would be too difficult to try to get anything done, so he merely relaxed as Hermione did her Transfiguration. Harry and Ginny were in the corner again, reading more Shakespeare; this time it was Othello, which seemed to offend Ginny quite a bit. The common room was otherwise empty, which added to the calming factors of the fire. 

"Hermione, I don't know if you've noticed, but you're doing homework. On your birthday. Both clearly signs of a loon."

"Ron, I am not crazy for wanting to get my homework done and get good grades," she retorted, not looking up from her paper. "I'm just being smart and getting it over with, and I suggest, though most likely in vain, that you do the same."

Ron watched her as she so neatly stroked her quill across the parchment, each word oozing with perfection. Compared to his scrawl, her writing was heavenly. He ran his hand through his hair and looked out the window, suddenly overcome with the need to be outside. He looked back at Hermione tentatively, wondering if he should request her company on a walk around the grounds…she would probably say no, seeing as how she'd just told him that eight thirty was far too late to be wasting time. He glanced out the window again, and then was suddenly hit with an idea…

"You're right, Hermione, it's nearly eight thirty and I've hardly gotten anything done," he said, standing up and walking over to the staircase.

"See, I knew you'd see it my way," she answered, smiling up at him. He smiled back, said he'd return shortly, and headed up the stairs. He pushed open the door and went to open his backpack, locating the wrapped parcel and removing it from its hiding spot. He let himself feel the full weight of it in his hand before standing up again, slipping it into his pocket, and heading back down the stairs. As he walked back over and sat down in his chair, Hermione looked up, but the smile was quickly replaced by a look of puzzlement.

"Ron, where are your books?"

"Oh, um…" he said, looking around absentmindedly, "about that. Can I ask you a favor?"

"No, Ron, I will not do your homework for you, we've been through this already! You've got to do it on your own, or else you'll never learn—"

"Will you go for a walk with me?"

Hermione looked at him as though she thought she'd heard him incorrectly. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again, and for a second, Ron was reminded of a fish he'd seen one time in the lake, coming up for air. She looked down at her paper, then back at Ron, and then at the quill in her hand, and she seemed to be making a decision. 

"Do you promise to take me somewhere other than where you took Padma?"

Ron smiled, then took her quill and books and set them on the chair next to him. Standing up, he held his hand out for hers and raised her gently from her chair. 

"But of course, Miss Granger, it's your birthday, and being so, it is my obligation to give you whatever it is you ask for."

Haha, I know, this birthday thing is taking up too many chapters, but I didn't want to get into something this chapter that I couldn't finish, so…the next chapter will be the last birthday chapter, all right? I hope this isn't too much of a cliffie for you guys! I'm sorry if it is. But review! I'll update as soon as I can!


	16. Goodnight Moon and Other Bedtime Stories

A/N: Hey there! Here's chapter 16 for you, I hope you like it! I'll warn you, lately I've been in a totally mushy, romance-crazed mood, and this chapter really reflects that, so…sorry if that makes you all crazy. This chapter may read like a sappy paperback-romance novel, but oh well, I'm in a sappy paperback-romance novel sort of mood. Anyway, I hope that doesn't drive you all up the wall, and you may even end up liking it! I guess we'll just see. Well, read and review, if you please, and enjoy!

Lauren

Disclaimer: JK has never written any sappy crap! Too bad…I imagine she'd be pretty good at it…better than me, anyway.

Chapter Sixteen

Goodnight Moon (and Other Bedtime Stories)

The night air was breezy, and as Ron and Hermione walked, they could hear the rustling of leaves not far from them. The moon was shining brightly above them, watching them descend the steps from school. As they left the last step, Ron felt the grass squish beneath his feet, and he found himself wondering what it was like to be small. (And no, not Hermione-small, but truly, genuinely small.) An owl hooted somewhere in the distance, but between the two friends there was silence. They just kept walking, one stealing quick glances at the other every once in a while, the small gift sitting heavily in Ron's hand, which remained stuffed in his pocket. They passed a tree near the lake, whose branches stretched out over the water, lightly brushing it in the wind and drawing small circles on the surface.

"Do you want to sit here?" Hermione asked, stopping suddenly. Ron's head snapped up.

"Oh, sure, yeah," he said, turning around and walking up to the tree. They smiled at each other, crouching onto the ground and stretching out their legs. Hermione scooted herself back to lean against the tree, and Ron did the same. They looked out over the water, the squid's tentacles visible down below. There was more silence, other than the owl still hooting off in the trees. Hermione played with a few blades of grass.

"So, was your birthday all right then?" Ron asked softly, as though not to disturb nature. Hermione looked up, still fiddling with grass.

"Yeah, it was actually really great. I had a nice time today. And that cake Dobby made was…well, it was really amazing, so that made it all the better," she said, chuckling. Ron smiled at her and exhaled. There was more silence, but Ron and Hermione were glad to discover that it wasn't uncomfortable, just unfilled. Ron felt his toe tapping to an imaginary beat somewhere between the rustling trees and the singing crickets. 

"Oh, you remember that the next Hogsmeade trip is next weekend, right?" Hermione asked, lightly tossing some grass. "George sent me an owl earlier today reminding me that they had arrangements for some sort of party for me." Ron chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"Oh, god, who knows what that could mean? They could be planning to kidnap you and subject you to product testing for all you know," he said, resting his head back against the tree and looking up at its branches.

"Well, no I think it's sweet, but I'm not sure I very much like the idea," she said, furrowing her brow in concern. "I mean it must be hindering their schedules, what with losing a whole day of business just for me. I don't want them going out of their way just to throw me a party, though I must say I am grateful they thought of me." She paused, observing Ron looking up at the treetops, and decided to join in on the fun. The tree appeared massively tall and powerful from down below, and with their heads tilting back the night sky seemed to envelop them in bright starlight. Ron caught a glimpse of Hermione out of the corner of his eye and saw an intense awe grow there deep inside. He wondered what she was thinking. Her eyes were caught on the leaves rustling in the breeze, and her ears heard the sweet chirping of crickets hidden in the bushes. Her fingers were still busy feeling the grass, picking single blades at a time and rolling them slowly between her fingers, and then flicking them away into the darkness. He noticed her freckles in the moonlight and the soft shadow playing across her lips, and he wondered—for a fleeting second—what it would feel like to touch them with his.

"Ron, can I ask you a question?" Hermione asked, breaking the silence. Ron's ears tingled at the sound of her voice. Or maybe it was the breeze blowing through his hair…

"Sure, anything."

"Remember when we were talking, when we made up after that argument, and you were telling me about Padma…" she trailed off uneasily. Ron looked at his hands and noticed, for the first time, that they seemed to glow in the moonlight.

"Yes?"

"Well, I was wondering…what was the rest of it? I mean your, um, 'inner turmoil', I believe it was. You were going to tell me, but, well, I mean, I—"

"Oh, that. Right. Well, um…you know about how she wasn't right for me and how I felt like I'd been forced into the relationship, and then how it was really, really horrible…" he said slowly, looking over at her. She nodded thoughtfully. "Well, plus, it kept us from being friends, and that was the worst part." Ron paused, wondering if what he had just said held deeper meaning. As he thought about this, Hermione lowered her head and looked at him coyly.

"So all of that was your 'inner turmoil', then?" 

Ron chuckled. 

"Yeah, that was most of it," he said, stretching out his legs and hoping she wouldn't push any further. He wasn't sure he wanted her to know what the rest was.

"And I suppose you're not going to tell me what the other part of that turmoil is, are you?" she asked, knowing the answer. Ron grumbled and sighed, dropping his shoulders.

"It's okay, you don't have to if you don't want to. If it makes you feel any better, though, I've been having some inner turmoil as well," she said, not looking at him. Ron raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, you too, eh? I guess that stuff's just spreading like wildfire, who knows who'll get it next?" Ron said, smiling. Hermione chuckled, picking some grass and tossing it in his direction.

"No, really, I have," she said defensively. "What? Why are you laughing? I guess it's funny knowing your friend has been in distress, is it?"

"No, no, it's not that, I promise. So, you want to tell me what this inner turmoil is then?" he said, calming down. She looked him in the eye for a moment, but whether she was evaluating his worthiness of knowing her secret or determining if he would truly stop laughing was a mystery to Ron. 

"Well, it involves the fact that I thought that I had, um, achieved my goal, but it turns out that, in the end, I've failed." When she looked back at Ron, he saw something strange in her eyes. Though nothing she'd said made any real sense, that something strange that shone from her made him understand. He didn't know what it was, but it was because of that that he suddenly found himself revealing what he had been so unsure about revealing…

"Hermione, I haven't not been crazy about you for like a year."

Ron waited for her reaction, and was glad to see that she wasn't surprised. In fact, it looked as though that's what she had expected him to say, and that both comforted and unnerved him. After a minute, she gave him a small smile and sighed. Ron waited for something more, something predictable, because right then he wished he could take back what he'd said.

"So, was the last part of your inner turmoil?" she said finally. Ron felt his muscles relax. There it was, right there. 

"Yeah, that was it. I didn't tell you before because, well, I mean I'd just broken up with Padma, and I didn't want to seem like an ass, so…"

"No, that's perfectly understandable," Hermione said, nodding. "Completely understandable. And I agree, by the way."

"Agree with what?"

"Your statement. You said that you hadn't not liked me for a year, and I agree," she said, trying not to blush. "But speaking for myself, obviously." Ron smiled to himself, looking down at the ground.

They fell into silence, Ron feeling incredibly relieved but unsure of what to do next. Hermione tilted her head back again to look some more at the moon. It had all worked out…he felt for her, and she felt for him as well. But something tugged at the bottom of Ron's mind as he thought of what to say next, and as much as he wanted to shoo it away, it was awfully persistent. He avoided the whole thing altogether and looked up at the stars as well.

For a while there, they were content under the great stretch of sky above them, with the owls and the crickets, the grass and the breeze, and the big, bright moon. That is, until Hermione caught a grasp of reality and remembered that they had been out there for quite some time. She brushed off her skirt and placed her hands firmly on the ground to her sides.

"Ron," she whispered softly, as not to startle him. He looked over at her.

"Yeah?"

"It's probably really late, I think we should head back inside." She watched him, waiting for his response.

"Oh yeah, you're right. I almost forgot." He removed the grass from his lap and stood up, feeling the small box shift in his pocket and suddenly remembering the whole purpose of the walk: to give her the present.

"Oh, hang on a second," he said, prohibiting her from standing. He pulled the box out and, after looking at it for a second, handed it over to her.

She reached out her hand tentatively, her hands anticipating the weight and receiving something much lighter. She turned it over in her hands, then looked it once more and began taking off the smooth gold paper. When she placed it (preserved in one whole piece) on the ground next to her, she saw a little brown box. She looked up at him before she pulled off the lid. 

"Happy birthday," he said quietly.

Inside was a pair of gold earrings, and when she lifted one out of the box, she saw that they were—

"Books?" she said with a small giggle. Ron laughed.

"Yeah, they're books. I know it's kind of dumb, but they really reminded me of you when I saw them, and I knew it would have been a mistake not to get them, so…"

"Ron, they're—"

"You don't, you know, have to wear them or anything, I just thought you'd appreciate the humor in them. So I won't be offended or anything if I never see them again."

"Ron," she said, pausing so that he couldn't interrupt her, "they're really cute. Thank you." She took the back off one and slid the end into her ear, closing it and putting on the other. After she finished, she reached out her hand for him to pull her up.

"Why, of course, milady." 

They laughed a bit, then began the walk back to the castle in more silence, Hermione reaching up every so often to tug at the small gold literature resting on her ear lobes, and Ron smiling to himself on a gift well given. The owls hooted their farewell as they ascended the steps quietly and entered the entrance hall, tugging the door carefully closed behind them. As they walked past the doorway to the Great Hall, they looked up at the ceiling, both thinking what an injustice it was serving the real outdoors; while its enhancement allowed for one to see the sky as it appeared, it lacked greatly the sense of atmosphere one gained from feeling and hearing the actual outdoors as well. After pondering this for a moment, they headed up the stairs, quietly so that Peeves wouldn't hear them and cause a ruckus. On the way to the portrait hole, Ron could feel Hermione's hand accidentally brushing against his and resisted, as much he could, from taking it into his own.

"Sock cake," Ron whispered to the Fat Lady as they reached the end of the corridor. Hermione looked up at him sternly, crossing her arms.

"Ron, 'sock cake'? What kind of a password is that? It has nothing to do with the history of Hogwarts, or anything magical for that matter, and you know the rules of setting passwords—"

"Hermione…I think that, just this once, we can make a small exception." Hermione rolled her eyes, but after a moment, she smiled and dropped her arms to her sides.

"All right, fine. Sock cake it is."

"Planning on going inside at any point this evening?" the Fat Lady asked, still (impatiently) facing the wall. 

"Oh, um, sorry," Hermione said, making an embarrassed face at Ron and stepping inside. Ron followed her and nearly lost a foot, as the Fat Lady swung closed so quickly that he barely had time to step in.

Hermione stepped over to her abandoned chair and, while gathering her things, noticed that Harry and Ginny had left their corner. Ron stood a few feet away, hands in his pockets, looking around at the room and allowing the warmth of the fire to breathe on his face.

"Well Ron, thank you for the walk," she said, turning around and swinging her bag over her shoulder. "It was absolutely lovely."

"Oh, well, thank you for joining me. Two is always more fun than one, and you've kept me from being a lonely man tonight."

Hermione chuckled, offering him a warm smile. His eyes grazed the surface of her face, and without hesitation, he leaned forward until his lips were pressed against her warm cheek. For the split second before he removed them, Hermione felt her breath catch in her throat, and they both closed their eyes. Finally, Ron took a step back and smiled before holding out his left arm.

"Come, madame, and I'll escort you to your room." Hermione laughed, tucking a curl behind her ear.

"Why thank you, but remember, it'll only be halfway, as you boys aren't allowed up our staircase."

"It doesn't matter, I'll climb the railing backwards if I have to. Or perhaps you'd prefer to give me a piggyback ride?"

Hermione was unable to suppress her giggles. 

"Well, sir, we'll have to see about that…"

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed! I know, it was a little drawn-out and sappy in places, but I couldn't help it. I'm a bit torn over not having a love myself, so…well, you know how it is, the mind gets extra-imaginative. Oh well. Oh, and I'm not sure if Hermione has pierced ears or not, but uh, now she does! I hope no one minds. Anyway, review! REVIEW! And I'll update soon!


	17. Back in the Saddle Again?

Chapter Seventeen

Back In The Saddle Again?

The way life goes is this: you fear something, fear it so much that it takes over your life and you can't help but think about it day and night, night and day, until finally you either drive yourself insane from the sheer consumption of it, or you decide to conquer it. And finally, after you've conquered it, you find all of this spare time that used to be filled with being afraid, and you don't quite know what to do with yourself. And as for the thing that you feared so greatly in the first place: after you conquer it, you're not so sure why you feared it in the first place. And what is it exactly you do with it now? Do you embrace it? Act as if you were always on the same side? Or do you continuously acknowledge the issue between you and it and just try to carry on with life normally? Or does the conquered fear open up the opportunity to be afraid of something else, something completely new? Could this new fear takes the place of the old one, and then you don't have to worry about all the extra time you had on your hands, because now it's taken up by the new fear?

Oh, the complexities of adolescence.

Ever since Ron and Hermione had admitted to each other their feelings, things had been…well, awkward. Because they had both spent so long worrying about rejection and ruining a friendship, they were both equally relieved that they were finally able to move past it. Or were they? Because now Hermione couldn't help but wonder…what next?

She didn't know it, but Ron was wondering the same thing. They had confessed, yes. But nothing really seemed to be changing. Sure, they had been spending more time together, but he hadn't technically asked her out, and therefore he had a new something to fear: if he were to, would she say yes? Being as Ron is a boy, and boys are slow, silly little buggers, he had convinced himself that, although Hermione had admitted to liking him, feelings change everyday and it was therefore possible that Hermione no longer felt the same way. Of course, this meant that asking her out was a completely new obstacle for him, and this fear of ultimate rejection replaced his previous fear. He found himself thinking of nothing else, day and night, night and day, until he started driving himself mad and he was left to over-analyze everything. Like Hermione tutoring Daniel Thompson, for example. Sure, he was a Hufflepuff, or was he a Ravenclaw? Ron didn't know, and didn't really care to know either. He was trouble, he knew that much, and the fact that Hermione was actually going out of her way to help him with Potions annoyed him. Why hadn't she gone out of her way to help **him** with Potions? Well, besides the fact that it would be completely useless, as he wouldn't pay attention anyway. 

Ron was sitting in the library, hiding as it were in the Dangerous Creatures and Reproduction aisle and pretending to look at books on hippogriffs and their mating patterns as he listened to Hermione and Daniel's daily Potions tutoring session.

"Okay, now, if we add two vampire teeth to the solution, what should happen?"

Hermione and Daniel were leaning over a table in the middle of the library, Daniel looking very seriously indeed at a piece of paper Hermione had designated a cauldron containing a dream-inducing potion, and at the moment Hermione was adding some imaginary ingredients. This idea seemed to confuse Daniel greatly, who must have been more of a hands-on, visual learner and not so good at hypothetical situations. 

"Well, um, I think that…well, it says here that…well the desired result is that it…oh bloody hell, I give up! I can't do this, something about a piece of paper being a cauldron just messes me up," Daniel cried, throwing his arms up in a great huff. Hermione frowned. Over in the aisle, Ron rolled his eyes. _Merlin, what a wuss._

"Okay, okay, just take a breath. Um…" she looked up at the clock—it was just past 6:30, meaning teachers were most likely finished cleaning up for the day and had abandoned their classrooms. She thought for a moment about asking permission to use the dungeons so that Daniel could actually attempt to make the potion; however, actually convincing Snape to allow them unsupervised access to what was practically his entire existence was more than doubtful. Hermione sighed heavily. 

"All right Daniel, what if we meet again tomorrow and by then I'll have figured out a way for you to physically make the potion, all right?" she said wearily. Daniel smiled.

"You can really do that? You would go through all of that to help me? Wow…I appreciate that. A lot. Thank you," he said with a smile. She smiled back, a hint of red in her cheeks. Ron felt his head fall backwards disbelievingly. _Could he be any more of a kiss-ass?_

"You're welcome," she said, offering him her hand. He shook it happily, giving her a one-sided smile that didn't seem to fit well with his impeccably groomed demeanor. Either way, she smiled back gratefully. After he'd picked up his books and left, she sat back down and began her Charms reading. Even though it was a Thursday night and she didn't have any work due the next day, she had decided she may as well get the weekend reading over with so she could enjoy the weekend doing…oh, who was she kidding, she wouldn't be doing anything else but thinking ahead about what homework she **would** have due eventually. She sighed, opened her book, and settled in on charms of 17th century America. 

Behind her, Ron held a few books in his hand casually (or what he thought was casually anyway) and strode over to a table on the other side of the library, approaching from behind. He set the books down, sat down in a chair facing her, and, without a word, began reading as though he were very interested in how male hippogriffs attracted their females with only a chicken bone and a handful (or beak-full, as it would be with a hippogriff) of feathers. Hermione glanced up quickly, not wanting him to see her seeing him, and felt a knot form in her stomach. Why wasn't he sitting with her? Had she done something wrong? And why the hell was he reading about the sexual habits of hippogriffs? She sat there, discontentedly staring at her book while internally formulating what could possibly be the cause of this odd separation. After a few moments of 'not' looking at Ron and rereading the same page in her book, it became painfully obvious to Hermione that there was only one explanation for all of this: he didn't like her any more. 

"Hello Ron," came an annoyingly sweet voice from somewhere on Ron's left. Hermione tried not to look as Lavender approached him, setting her books next to his and pulling out the chair across from him. Hermione's heart sank. _There it goes. There he goes. Gone. Gone, gone, gone. _She watched as Lavender inquired about—what in the bloody hell was so interesting about damn hippogriffs having sex? Was she the only one who didn't find it devastatingly appealing? She slammed her book closed unconsciously and reached for another one. Pulling it open, she looked down at it, attempting to engage herself in something distracting, until she realized she couldn't read it. Confused, she flipped through the pages, looking at them as though she had just seen McGonagall prancing around in a clown outfit and shouted, "Pretty, pretty dancing!" Was she going absolutely mad? What, now she couldn't even read?

"You might try turning the book around. Or, at least, that's how I was taught to read, perhaps you've developed a new way that works better?"

Hermione snapped her head around, shocked and otherwise terrified that she had been caught in such an obviously stupid moment. She looked up and saw Ginny standing above her, grinning down at her wickedly as if she'd just poured honey in her hair and ripped holes in all of her clothing. (Of course, no one knew this, but she had fantasized about the idea before, but with someone else; she had come to love The Parent Trap a little too much in recent months.) Not knowing what else to do, Hermione shut the book and placed it on the other side of the table, disconnecting herself from the incident as much as possible. 

"Oh, um, no, I was just…seeing what it was like reading backwards is all," Hermione claimed, calmly reopening her Charms book and returning to the page she'd been reading. Ginny sat down next to her and picked up the offending book Hermione had just put down. 

"Hermione, why are you acting so strangely? It wouldn't have anything to do with my brother and that horrible wench he's talking to, would it?" she asked, flipping thorough the book backwards and finding it rather interesting. "You know Hermione, I think you may be on to something here…"

"No, I um…why, did you hear anything they were saying? I couldn't hear after a certain point, I think because I was too completely disturbed by my inability to comprehend words."

"Hermione…look, why don't you just **do** something about it instead of just sitting around and waiting? I mean, he might be amazing, but he's also **Ron**. Think about it. **Ron**. I suggest if you want to stop moping around and obsessing over this, **you** need to be the one to do something." Ginny continued glancing at the upside-down and backward words in a fascinated manner. Hermione eyed her quizzically. 

"Ginny, what on earth are you—"

"Hermione, I apologize about what I said earlier—this is actually quite interesting, I think I can work out some sort of code here…"

Hermione rolled her eyes and smiled. "Sure Ginny, all right. You let me know how that goes."

The halls were chilly when Hermione headed out of the library for dinner two hours later, but she didn't mind; the cool air comforted her and made her feel like she was outside under the stars. As her feet carried her down the stairs, she heard feet pattering somewhere behind her. After deciding it wasn't just an echo, she stopped and waited for the feet to catch up with her. After a moment, a head of red hair popped out from around the corner. Looking up, he caught her eye and grinned.

"Hey, I thought I'd join you," he said, waiting for her to start walking to move his feet and follow her lead. Even if she'd wanted to, she wouldn't have been able to keep herself from smiling. 

"Oh, well that's good. I feel like I haven't eaten all day, I'm starved." She looked down at their feet, which were stepping in sync, and noticed a marking on Ron's arm out of the corner or her eye.

"Hmm, interesting…" she said, picking up Ron's arm and examining it. There, in large, pink letters, read the words "We All Love Ronnie," with a heart dotting the 'i' and three more hearts around the sides. Hermione chuckled sickly. 

"Well, it looks like someone's claimed you," she said jokingly. Ron laughed.

"Well at least **someone **did it," he said, equally jokingly. Hermione gave him a befuddled look, but quickly replaced it with laughter. _Right…_

All though dinner, Hermione pondered about what Ginny had said. Should she really go for it? It was probably really risky, for even though they'd both confessed their feelings for each other, it had been a few weeks and people, especially boys, she thought, go through frequent mood swings and don't like the same person for very long. Still, she couldn't help but think it may be worth it. It occupied her thoughts all though dinner, and it must have been obvious because Ron ended up flicking a pea at her without her seeing it coming. 

"Ron, what the—oh thanks, that's sweet," she said, tossing the pea right back at him. Ron smiled charmingly.

"Anything for you, sweetheart. Are you all right? You seem…preoccupied," he said, becoming suddenly serious. Hermione sighed.

"Yeah, I'm all right. I'm just thinking about how I'm going to get Daniel downstairs to the dungeons tomorrow to practice making that potion, otherwise he'll never understand it and all of this will have been a waste," she said, playing with her fingers in her lap. Ron frowned; of any answer he'd expected her to give him, that certainly wasn't one he'd hoped for. Still, he tried his best to be supportive, even if he thought the kid was a pushover and a dork.

"Well, why don't you just tell Snape that you really need to use it and promise to have everything the way he left it, at least that way he won't be anxious about anything being ruined. Though being you, he probably hates you enough to suspect you'd sabotage everything shamelessly, promise or no promise," he said with a wry grin. Hermione chuckled, throwing him an offended glare.

"Aww, thanks Ron. Thanks a lot."

The two walked the distance to the common room in near silence, one or the other speaking up every so often to comment on dinner or one of the day's classes or the sky or anything else that seemed relative. The silence was comfortable, however, and neither felt obliged to fill it, rather they just felt there were some (random, little, and otherwise insignificant) things that were worth sharing. Ron was about to mention the comment on his arm and how it really was just a ridiculous gesture when Hermione cleared her throat importantly. Ron looked over at her, listening intently. Hermione's heart was racing, and Ron could tell she was nervous by the way she kept fiddling with her fingers. It made him smile. Hermione blinked several times before actually beginning her sentence, and when she did start speaking, her voice cracked a little.

"Ron, how would—ahem—how would you feel if I um…well, if I asked you out?" she said, immediately wishing she hadn't said anything at all. She didn't want to see his reaction, so she kept her eyes glued to the floor. There was a moment's silence, then…

"Good. … I would feel good."

Hermione looked up at him and saw he was smiling gratefully, which in turn made her smile, and now the next words to come from her lips were much easier indeed.

"Okay, then will you go out with me?"

"Yes, I will."

And they continued their walk in silence. Happy, elated silence. Hermione tried her best not to grin too much. She felt so incredibly relieved that she felt like she could do anything, anything at all, even go up to Snape, tell him it was fine that he hated her because she hated him just as much, and then take Ron's Quidditch broom and smash everything in the dungeons to bits. They reached the portrait hole, Ron said the password, and they climbed inside. Suddenly, Hermione found herself yawning uncontrollably. She turned to Ron to say good night and suddenly realized she faced a new demon: now what? She had asked him out, they were going out, but…did she kiss him goodnight? Or did she just act the way they'd always acted? Not that that didn't include a fair share of kisses…

But before she could say anything, Ron turned to her with a cautious grin. He took her hand in his gently and kissed her on the forehead.

"The answer is yes, but I still have to think about it."

Hermione grinned back, racking her brain for any sort of logical explanation for what he'd just said. What the hell did that mean?

"Oh, uh, okay, sure," she said, nodding understandingly. "Well, good night then."

"Good night, Hermione."

And a whole new rush of doubts and demons came flooding in. Now what?


	18. When Opportunity Knocks, Don't Answer!

Hey everyone!!

Okay kids, it's been a good long while since I've updated. All apologies and explanations are in my profile. I didn't write an introduction before the last chapter cause I figured it'd be weird and awkward. Anyway, here I am, writing this story again, and it feels nice to be back. I'm also writing another story, under the name 'finallywoken', and it's called Uninvited, if you feel like reading something else in the meantime. It's more dramatic, more descriptive, and overall pretty different from what I usually write, but I recommend it, and no, not only because I wrote it. Hehe.

One more time, here is the flashback guide. FLASHBACK GUIDE. HERE. READ IT BECAUSE I'M NEVER, EVER POSTING IT AGAIN! EVER!

Chapter One: NOT a flashback

Chapter Two: the first part and the last part are flashbacks. The middle is not.

Chapter Three: the first part

Chapters four and on: no flashbacks.

You can find that same guide on chapters 8 and 10, if you're still lost. I posted it there too, a long, long time ago.

BE WARNED. I will be writing more flashbacks, maybe even in this chapter. And because there seems to be a GREAT DEAL of confusion about this, I'll CLEARLY mark flashback sections. Unfortunately, I can't wave my hands and make the 'doodle doodle doo' noise like they do on Wayne's World. Therefore, you'll have to settle for some sort of notation, like '' or something else really fruity like that. Hey, don't whine, it's your fault. You brought this upon yourselves.

And now, ladies and gents…

Chapter Eighteen

When Opportunity Knocks...Don't Answer!

Confusion. Anger. Self-doubt. Frustration. Guilt. Embarrassment. Delusion. Over the next four weeks, Hermione became very familiar with these emotions, and it was all she could do to not push Ron into a chair and ask him what it was exactly he had to think about that was taking him this long. But she didn't mention it, and instead she decided maybe she would give him a little space. Perhaps she was overloading him, perhaps it was all too much at once, perhaps...absence makes the heart grow fonder. Perhaps if he missed her a little, he'd come around and decide already. So that's what she did. She didn't let herself get too involved in Ron's affairs; she still spent time with him, just in small spurts, nothing over the top. And she lived life normally-well, as normally as any girl in love with her best friend and on pins and needles about it and pretending not to care **could** live.

And the days went on. The first few days were normal. Hermione was fine. She just figured it would only be a matter of time before he brought it up again. How could he not? It wasn't like choosing a sandwich or deciding whether to go to Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade for dinner, this was a more pertinent situation and not something you forget about easily. Or maybe, at least, not for Hermione.

The second week of waiting was a little more awkward. Hermione walked around with a smile plastered on her face while secretly wondering what was wrong. Was it something she said? Had she been too hasty in asking? Had something changed in which Ron suddenly decided to avoid the situation altogether? Hermione didn't press the matter because she didn't want to seem annoying, so she just carried on as normally and sanely as she could. Ron seemed to be fine. Hermione couldn't help but assume that none of this was as important to him as it was to her, but she refused to ask.

The third week, she began to grow frustrated. One week was fine, two was excusable, but three? Now he was just being rude. Even if he wanted to say no, he should have said it by that point, but the fact was that he hadn't, and Hermione was getting fed up. Why was he tormenting her so? Didn't he at least have the common decency to let her know of his decision? Wasn't he human any more?? In her newfound frustration, she stopped talking to him, avoided him in the common room, and made sure to seem greatly unpleasant in his presence. Sure, the mature thing to do would be to approach him about it, but...well, Hermione was never quite that decent about things like this. If he didn't want to talk to her about it, than she wasn't going to be the one to do it for him.

Finally, during the fourth week, Hermione had had enough. She pulled him aside after their Transfiguration lesson and laid it on him, as she is known to do.

"Ron, it's been four weeks."

Ron stared at her blankly. Hermione scowled.

"Four weeks since what?" he asked cluelessly. Hermione took a breath to calm herself.

"Four weeks since I, you know, asked you out, and you said you had to think about it." Ron appeared deep in thought, lowering his eyes for a minute before looking up, surprised.

"Oh my god, you're right. Hermione, I'm really sorry, it slipped my mind-"

"I see. Well, I suppose it would be ridiculous of me at this point to ask if you _have_ thought about it."

Ron looked down guiltily. When he looked back up at her, she saw remorse in his eyes.

"Well, I just…well look at us, we're not exactly getting along right now, are we? How would we start going out right now, like this?"

And that was that.

The walk up the stairs had been so pleasant. So peaceful, so calm, so relaxing, and with his favorite person ever. And when she'd asked him out, he really did feel good about it. He had wanted it, thought about what things would be like if they were back together, and he had a good feeling about it. At first.

But what would happen with them? Who was to say that everything wouldn't happen all over again? How could he know he was making her happy? There was no guarantee; there was never any guarantee. The thought made him nervous; extending his heart to her again and being unsure of the consequences was about as appealing as ripping out his heart and tossing it to a (potentially) starving hippogriff. But he really wanted this, more than he thought she should know, which is why he'd responded the way he did. His heart was saying yes, and his head was trying to think it over logically. It seemed like a fair answer.

He went to bed that night thinking rather seriously about it. In fact, he didn't get to sleep for hours, his brain was so occupied with it. Was he ready? Were _they_ ready? Sure, it would start out great, and then suddenly, somewhere down the road, when he'd least expect it, wham! He'd be struck by heartache like a bolt of lightning. And then where would he be? Right where he just left. Right where he spent the whole summer. Right where he spent a lifetime (or what felt like a lifetime) in misery. And it wasn't necessarily Hermione's fault-she surely wasn't acting like this presently, but Ron had developed a sort of taste aversion to Hermione romantically. There was no doubt she had changed, grown up, matured, and mostly moved on from whatever it was they were back then, but still...something wasn't right about it in Ron's head, and when he was finally able to drift off into an uneasy sleep, his heart was weary and his mind was cautious.

And the days passed on. It was hard at first, being around Hermione and knowing he wasn't ready to be with her. He did his best to avoid any sort of situation in which he would unknowingly lead her on; he was even able to control the infamous Weasley charm around her, something he had never, ever been able to master before. It always made him feel strangely guilty afterward, not as if he'd betrayed Hermione, but as if he'd betrayed himself. But there was nothing he could do about it: he had to wean himself from her if he was going to be all right, if **they** were ever going to be all right together. It didn't really occur to him that he might be putting Hermione off; it was a natural defense mechanism, something he couldn't help, and it hadn't even crossed his mind to consider what it may have been doing to her feelings. It just made things feel better. What harm was there in that?

After a couple weeks, he didn't even remember about that night. He just knew something inside him was preventing him from being close to Hermione and didn't question it, just followed it through. There were times when he felt out of the loop, times when he'd be sitting with Harry or Harry and Ginny and wonder how things had gotten so complicated, when it had become so that the trio never sat together as a trio any more. But he overcame this and accepted that some things just have to change, and that maybe this was one of them.

If he may have said so himself, had he had the chance, he was quite taken aback when Hermione confronted him after class. Not remembering anything concerning the events of that night, her anger seemed unfounded. And then suddenly...oh yes, that night _did _happen, didn't it. It all came back to him and he felt nothing less than horrible. How could he not have realized? He could have at least had the common decency to say _something_ to her concerning them. But it hadn't occurred to him, and in this moment he felt more regretful than in any other moment of his life. The look of pain on her face when he spoke those words, all of those words, like every one cutting a new gash in her heart. But it was true: they hadn't really spoken in weeks, and even if he had wanted to start a relationship, that would have been no proper starting off point. As she walked away from him, he felt a small tug in the center of his heart. Was it calling out to her? Reaching out just after having let go? Ron huffed grumpily and stormed off. This whole time he was okay without her, and suddenly, right when he could have had her, he passed her up. And now he felt upset about it? What was that about?

"Daniel?"

The tall, lanky boy spun around and smiled.

"Hermione! Hi, I was wondering where you were," he said, moving his books over and offering her a seat. Hermione smiled back weakly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I was just downstairs in the dungeons talking to Snape. Surprisingly, he's letting us study in there, that way I figured you'd be able to work on the potions right there in front of you instead of on a piece of paper. Does that sound all right?"

"Wow, that's great! He's actually letting us use the dungeons? That's surprising, but...wow, thanks Hermione!"

And the two headed down the halls like a kid and his reluctant aunt, cringing and unfortunately stuck with the responsibility of babysitting. Daniel chatted on eagerly of this and that, potions and calculus and Arithmancy and who knew what else? Hermione certainly wasn't up to actually listening to all of it. She felt her feet drag along underneath her, begging for her to stop and rest a bit. She had been up for nearly sixteen hours now, patrolling this and studying that and taking care of whatnot, and as she realized her day was nowhere close to ending, she heaved a great sigh. They reached the stairs down to the dungeon and pushed the door open.

"The dungeons certainly look different when they're empty. And when Snape's not here to torture everybody," Daniel commented, his eyes sparking as he noticed things about the room he hadn't before. Hermione walked over to one of the desks and set down her bag, taking out of it some parchment and a quill. She walked over to the supply closet and pulled out one of the spare cauldrons, setting it next to their desk. Daniel walked over, setting his things down next to hers, and helped her move the cauldron into place.

"You know, Hermione, you're very beautiful."

Hermione stopped dead in her tracks. _What?_ Reading her mind, Daniel chuckled a little, moving toward her.

"I mean it, you are. I just don't think you know it, so I wanted to tell you."

Maybe it was the flattery, but right then there was something very charming about Daniel Thompson, sixth year Hufflepuff and Potions failure. And suddenly she saw him as something slightly less annoying than a talkative, precocious nephew who wouldn't shut up-he was a kind gentleman, who had given her roses for her birthday and been so appreciative of all of her help, and had always gone out of his way to repay her. The flush in her cheeks seemed to pull her out of her funk, and she looked at him with a shy grin.

"Daniel, um...thank you. That's really sweet of you to say."

He didn't respond, not as she expected him to. He simply lowered his lips to her forehead, touching them lightly, and proceeded to remove his own parchment and quill from his bag. And Hermione felt a very conflicting feeling indeed: did the rush she felt simply come with the territory? Or was it...leading to something more?

Hehehe, I guess you'll have to wonder about that one for a little bit, won't you? At least until I decide which one it is. Hmm...which one should it be? Review!!!


	19. A Ceremonial Marking of Territory

Hey kids, it's good to be back. The title of this one's taken from a book by Ray Cruz. Good book. This one's a little strange, I'm just warning you. It's a little high on emotion and craziness, butÉwell, we'll see how you like it. Anywho, I hope you enjoy this one, and make sure to review! Review, review, review!

Heh.

Lauren

Chapter Nineteen

A Ceremonial Marking of Territory

Or

Ron and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

There was no question that things had gotten awkward. Ron could tell, Hermione could tell, Harry could tell, all of Gryffindor could even tell. But Hermione was determined not to let this get the best of her. And now, with Daniel was in the picture, it wouldn't be much of a feat.

Because now Daniel was in the picture. Just in little bits at first: their Potions meetings started becoming more and more frequent, and Hermione realized she didn't mind so much. If nothing else, it was at least a frequent ego boost. But it wasn't just that. Daniel was actually quite good company, once you got past his constant chattering and his seemingly childish eagerness. He was quite smart in areas other than Potions; his skill in Transfiguration was, as she found, almost better than hers. He was fantastic when it came to matters of the heart--somehow he always knew the right thing to say. And, as studious as he was, he was quite easy to be around and always found good humor in things. As time wore on, the two began spending a good amount of time together, and soon found they didn't need the excuse of Potions lessons (though they still had them, every other day) to hang out. Not only was he fun to be with, but he also took studying quite seriously, and the two were often found in the library, their noses deep in work or books.

It was on one of these days that Hermione found herself in quite an odd place indeed.

Daniel was walking Hermione back to her Common Room--despite the fact that it was well out of his way, being three floors and four hallways away from his ownÑwhen suddenly, she stopped hearing his footsteps next to hers. She stopped and turned around to see him a few feet behind her, apparently deep in thought. When she approached him, he raised his hand to silence her before she spoke. Finally, he opened his mouth to speak.

"Hermione, I want to go out with you."

Hermione looked at him for a moment, pondering why on earth it had taken him all of that just to ask her out.

"Oh, um, okay," she responded, not knowing exactly how to handle such a situation. Daniel chuckled, which caused her to blush.

"Well, is that a 'yes' then?" Hermione blushed even more, to the point where she thought her cheeks would explode.

"Yes. Yes, it is."

When they reached the portrait hole, Daniel pulled her to him closely and pecked her softly on the lips. This took Hermione a little by surprise, but she found herself smiling as the portrait hole opened and she climbed inside. In fact, she soon found that she couldn't **stop** smiling, even when she saw Harry, Ginny and Ron around the fire, looking up at her as she entered.

"Hermione, what is it? Did you get extra homework from Snape or something? Did McGonagall ask you to grade tests for her? Is Binns having you give a lecture on the history of ghoul rebellions next week?" Ron asked teasingly, causing Dean and Seamus, who were nearby, to nearly fall out of their chairs in laughter. Ginny gave him a look of annoyance, but Harry couldn't help but chuckle to himself, which earned him a look from her as well. Ron gave Hermione an apologetic grin as she walked over, hoping she wouldn't slap him silly. Instead, however, and surprisingly to everyone in the room, she began chuckling as well, setting her books down on the floor and pulling her wand out of her robes.

"No, but really, where have you been all night? Oh wait, don't tell me--the library!" Ron exclaimed, just as she too said the two expected words. Hermione smiled instantly, hoping she wasn't blushing like mad. Ron felt something was different--he could have sworn he felt her glowing.

"Are you all right?" he asked, suddenly serious. Hermione frowned.

"Yes, why shouldn't I be?"

"Dunno, I was just checking." Something was different, he was sure of it.

A week later, Ron still didn't have an answer, and he was growing more and more impatient and frustrated. He showed up in the library and suddenly felt his stomach drop--there, in front of him, were two people (one with suspiciously bushy hair) with their hands comfortably entwined. Ron tried to swallow the lump in his throat as best he could as he walked past them nonchalantly, heading toward the medicine reference books. Fortunately for him, Hermione didn't see him walk past, as her back was to him, and so he found himself watching them from around the corner. The sight almost made him sick to his stomach: how do people find studying together enjoyable, and romantic even? Because there they were, holding hands and reading books together. Merlin, it almost made him angry thinking about how that was even possible. But there they were, perfectly enjoying themselves. And Ron wasn't too fond of this.

After an hour or so, Daniel got up, kissed Hermione on the forehead, and exited the library. Ron, carrying a large medical dictionary, made his way over to her table, plopped the book down with a large thud, and sat in Daniel's abandoned chair.

"Hi Ron, what are you studying?"

"Oh, nothing, just brushing up on my medical terms," he said coolly. Hermione chuckled, obviously not noticing his tone of voice.

"For what? You, brushing up on something? That's unlike you. What's going on?"

"Oh, well it looks like I'm not the only one acting strangely then, am I?" he replied, not lifting his eyes from the pages. "I should really be asking **you** what's going on." Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me, but what on earth are you talking about?" she snapped, feeling heat rise in her cheeks. Ron looked at her coldly.

"What's going on with you and that chump, Thompson? You two seem to be awfully chummy lately. You two wouldn't happen to be dating now, would you?" he asked, a smile uncontrollably appearing on his lips. Hermione remained silent, her eyes growing strangely wide. Ron became suddenly confused at the turn the situation had taken. She was supposed to be angry, she was supposed to be yelling at him right now about how he had no business spying on her and accusing her of doing something wrong. But she wasn't, and he couldn't decide if her current reaction was worse.

"Um, well...y-yes. Yes, we are," she said finally. "Um...I have to go." She gathered her books rather quickly and walked out of the library without so much of a glance back at Ron.

"Ron, what are you so worried about? It's Daniel Thompson; just one look at him and you can tell he's a wanker. I mean, look at the way he tucks his shirt into his pants! And the way he's always so prim and proper, like his mum's dressed him. He's always got books in his arms, his glasses are never askew, and his hair's always perfect. I have the undeniable urge to just walk right up to him and slap that stupid, goofy grin off his face. I mean, what is there to like? He must be perfectly boring."

Ron looked over at his little sister, whose hands were gesticulating madly in frustration as she spoke. He wanted so much to hug her and tell her how much he appreciated her effort, but he realized that a) they were in the Great Hall, in front of, well, the entire school, which would prove to be a strange setting to show such kindness to a sibling, and b) everything she said was true--which is why he was worried in the first place. It was true, he did like studying. He always dressed neatly. Studying was important to him. He was...charming. And that was exactly what Ron was not. And that was exactly what Hermione was.

"Well, if she was so interested in me, enough to want to pursue a relationship with me, then why is she all of a sudden so damn cheeky with this bloke? I mean, it's like she just asked me out because she wanted a relationship in general, not because she wanted **me**. And why wouldn't she tell me? I mean, we are best friends, you'd think she'd at least think to tell me something like this, it's not like it happens every day, this is something important! Argh, I--I don't know what I think any more, I need to eat."

"Do keep in mind that it has been two months since she asked you out, and you said no! Not that you did anything wrong, you did what you knew was best for you. But you can't expect her to sit around and wait for you forever. She's just trying to move on, kind of like you did last year. It's just...you know. You can't decide not to have her and then refuse to let anyone else have her, Ron. It's not the way things work."

Ron grumbled. He certainly wasn't in the mood to talk about what he could and couldn't do, or what worked and what didn't. And now that he and Hermione weren't talking--again! How many times could this happen to one pair of people?--it was clear he wouldn't get any closure on the matter any time soon. He sighed discontentedly as he stuck a large bite of mashed potatoes and gravy into his mouth.

"Harry, don't you agree?" Ginny asked, causing Harry to jerk his head up suddenly. As Harry remained silent, confused, Ginny gave him a pressing glance, to which he answered, "Of course! Ginny's right, you know. Completely. About everything." Ginny rolled her eyes as Ron laughed weakly. At least he could always count on Harry to help him out in tough situations.

Hermione sat on her bed silently. Lavender and Parvati had tried several times to persuade her to come out of the room, but Hermione insisted she was perfectly content sitting in her bed and reading. Eventually, the two girls gave up, deciding it was useless, and let her be. She didn't want to see Ron, not after what had happened in the library. Why had she been so reluctant to tell him? Sure, she was perfectly content with Daniel, he was kind to her and sweet and everything she wanted. But for some reason she found she didn't want Ron knowing, but hard as she thought, she couldn't figure out why. Surely she wasn't ashamed of Daniel, it must have been something else...but what, she wasn't sure. All she knew was, she had probably made things much more awkward, because Ron knowing made her awkward, and surely now it made him awkward too. She decided it was best if she just lay low for the time being. And for the first time in ages, she went to bed early, but there was so much on her mind that it took her quite a while before she was able to drift off into a very uneasy sleep.

Of course he was jealous. What did he expect? But Ginny was right; he couldn't expect her to hang around just waiting for him to decide he was ready. But it all seemed so...sudden. How had she found someone else? With Padma it had taken time, and he had had an excuse for dating her: Hermione pushed him to do it. But here she was, with someone she found attractive and desirable all on her own, so what was her reason? It made him cringe to know that this was a decision she came to on her own, that this was someone she really wanted to be with, and that this was something real. Everyone knew he and Padma wouldn't last, but this...this was very different indeed. Because it was obvious to everyone that Hermione and Daniel actually made sense.

Hermione felt her feet carrying her somewhere, but she wasn't sure where she was exactly. She knew it looked familiar, but for some reason she couldn't place her finger on it. All she knew was she was surrounded by warm air and tall yellow flowers. Her feet felt cool in the tall grass, and the wind tugged gently at her long, white dress. She kept walking forward, hoping that eventually she would see something that would tell her where she was, when she saw in the distance an irregularly tall house. Perhaps it was her imagination, but it looked as if it were greatly distorted, crooked beyond all reason. She kept walking toward it, feeling a hot sun bear down on her from behind. When she finally reached the house, she saw a door--a door so slanted and deformed it seemed impossible to open. But surprised she was to find that when she turned the handle, the door opened with ease. She pushed it open with a loud creak, and as she entered she saw in front of her the stretch of a long, dark hallway. To her left, she saw a lit torch, and she took it in her hand and proceeded down the hall. As she passed, the fire revealed the peeling paint on the walls and the cobwebs in the corners of the ceiling. At the end, she saw a dark, wooden door. She pushed it open and found a small child sitting on the floor, playing with dolls. The child, upon hearing the noise of the door, turned his head around to face Hermione and smiled when he saw her face. Hermione gasped.

"Mum!" squeaked the small boy. His face was covered in small, delicate freckles, and when he opened his mouth she saw two rather large front teeth. His auburn hair was a disheveled mess, and it fell to right below his ears. And his smile was awkwardly crooked, but when she saw it she felt her heart melt. She slowly approached him, acutely aware of the sound of her feet on the wooden floor, but before she reached him her eyes fell upon a mirror on the wall across from her. But something wasn't right. Because when she looked into the mirror, she saw--

"Ron?"

She woke up in a cold sweat, her hair clinging to her face and her nightgown cold against her skin. "Ron?" she whispered to herself again.

Later...

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Hermione spun around, her head nearly flying off her neck as she tried (and failed) to remain calm. She didn't want to do this, not here, not now, not ever. She stared at the table in front of her as Ron sat down across from her, staring at her until she couldn't take it any more. She looked up at him nervously, unsure of why she felt this way. It was just a boy, a boy who liked her and was kind to her and made her feel wonderful. So why did she feel so guilty about it?

"I-I don't really know, I just...there wasn't ever really an opportune moment, you know? I mean, it's sort of awkward to just go up to someone out of the blue and say, "By the way, did I mention I've got a boyfriend?" Don't you understand?"

"No, I don't understand. Because it seems like you don't trust me or believe we're good enough of friends to tell me something like this. Because things like this are important to you, important in your life, and I would assume it was something you wanted to share with your best friend! But I suppose I assumed wrong, didn't I?"

"Excuse me, but you didn't find it so pressing to tell me about Padma, now did you? I had to hear it from someone else, and even then I had to pry it from you, even though I already knew! You refused to tell me, even though I asked repeatedly if there was anything new going on in your life, you refused! You pretended like everything was perfectly normal. So how can you get upset with me when it's exactly what you would have done--and did do!"

"No, Hermione, this is completely different, those were different circumstances--don't try and change the subject!" Ron spat angrily, his face blending into his hair.

"Ron, you just don't like hearing anyone else be right! But you know I'm right--you didn't tell me because you didn't want to!" Hermione yelled. "You have no reason to turn this around on me when you can't even admit to being guilty if the same exact thing!"

"Oh yeah? Well I wouldn't have even gone out with Padma in the first place if you hadn't forced me into it!" Hermione cocked an eyebrow as Ron smiled triumphantly, his smile oozing cockiness. Hermione cackled.

"Forced you into it?! I never did anything of the sort! It was completely your decision, how could I force you into something like that? That's ridiculous!"

"Hermione, you couldn't stop **talking **about the idea of the two of us together--always bringing her up, talking about how pretty she was and what a good match we made and how well we went together--it was as if you were nuts with the concept! You went to bed every night dreaming of us being together! You **wanted** me with her!"

Hermione paused, realizing the bitter truth of his correctness. She lowered her eyes, biting her lip, and looked up at him, a tear in her eye, and seeing this, Ron took a step back, scared.

"You have no idea how much it killed me to see you with her, Ron. You have **no** idea. I said those things because I was waiting, hoping that you would tell me I was wrong. And then when you didn't, I realized that I had no choice but to be supportive. Yes, I probably went too far, but--but I was only trying to be a good friend."

And with that, she was gone. Ron watched as she turned her back to him, running off up the stairs, her robes billowing behind her. Ron hesitated for a second, and then took off after her, but she was already gone.

Make sure to review!!!


	20. Tired of Waiting for You

Hello again! Here's the next chapter for you, and just so you know, the story's coming up to its end...

I know. We've been with this one for so long. And that's why it's ending. But it's ending naturally, so it's okay. I think the next chapter will be the last one--I'll try to get it out within the next week, before I leave, so you guys can read it and enjoy it and whatnot. And once I get settled in Chicago, maybe I'll start a new one! I can't make any promises, but...we'll see. Anyway, here's the next chapter for you, hope you enjoy. And make sure to review!

Lauren

Oh, and this is part one of a two-chapter finale type thing, if you know what I mean. The next chapter will be...well, obviously, the second half. Ha. Ahem. I'm done.

Chapter Twenty

Tired of Waiting For You

It was a whole six weeks (six weeks? Well, Ron had been counting) since Hermione and Ron had spoken, and for a while it didn't really bother Hermione at all. In fact, she was so smitten with her new relationship with Daniel that any thought of Ron was...laughable. The joy she had found with Daniel was unquestionable. She loved the way he held her hand constantly, the way his arm felt rested on her shoulder, the way love sounded when it spilled from his lips...she loved every comfort and security he gave her, because he loved her and she loved being loved. The first time he had told her--they had been sitting in the library studying the influence of Egyptian medicine in the wizarding world--and he had his arm around her shoulder. She had been taking down notes, her hand moving furiously across her paper and could feel his eyes watching her. When she had looked up at him, curious, he had had an impish grin on his face, one that showed he couldn't have been more pleased. When she asked him what he was so happy about, he leaned in ever so slightly and whispered, "nothing, except the fact that I love you so much." Hermione could feel her heart pounding, her pulse racing, and the first thing she could think to say was, "I love you so much too." It wouldn't occur to her until later, much later, that this was only the beginning of then end.

For a while, Hermione couldn't get enough of Daniel's affection. He always knew where she was and when he saw her he would immediately flock to her side, taking her hand or wrapping a gentle arm around her. And she loved it. She couldn't feel more elated about anything in her life. Until one day, he took her hand and she felt her face cringe in response. He put his arm around her and all she wanted to do was shrug it off. She would see him coming toward her and would walk off in the other direction under the pretense that she had other responsibilities she had to attend to. Just thinking about him brought anguish and distaste to her mind. She wanted nothing more than to escape him, because now his affection felt like nothing more than suffocation. She felt as though they were attached at the hip, and her only means of escape were to hide. So she spent a lot of time in the library, hidden between the shelves with her books spread out before her, or in her dorm, squishing as many of her studies onto her bed as possible without letting them fall haplessly to the floor. The one advantage she had was that Daniel was a Hufflepuff, which meant she could have the common room all to herself without having to worry about him breathing down her back. The only problem was, she was now so out of the loop of talking to Ron and Harry that trying to study in the common room--where they always hung out--proved to be an awkward and undesirable situation.

And here she faced another issue: how had she let time slip by her so quickly? It had been so long since she had spoken to either of the boys, yet she hadn't even noticed. She wondered if that made her a bad person, although, she noted, neither of them had seemed to distraught by he departure in the past weeks. Although this seemed to be comforting at first, it eventually only made her feel worse. Did this mean there was no longer a place for her in the trio? Was it now only a...duo?

Daniel had let her overlook her friendship with Ron, but as time passed it became clear to her that her friendship with him was something to be sorely missed. She hadn't sat with either Harry or Ron in classes for over a month, and now she missed their incessant banter and their reliance on her assistance. And now that it had been so long, she realized they must have gotten on without her, for they seemed perfectly content with their currents live, though they failed to include her. What made it worse was her coming to terms with the fact that se, in fact, was not content without them at all.

After realizing how much she had missed out on, she became acutely aware of Ron in his surroundings, how he interacted with people around him and how he was in general. And he seemed to be doing just fine, which was good and bad at the same time. She was glad he was all right of course, but she couldn't help but feel slightly downtrodden at the fact that he didn't seem to miss her at all. He had moved on, moved on without her. What made it worse was that she knew she only had herself to blame.

After a week of avoiding Daniel, she knew what she had to do. Beside, the way she was acting was cruel to him, and it wasn't his fault he cared about her so much. She still thought he was a wonderful person, but the feeling she had once had for him had now...vanished. And as she came to terms with what she now had to do, she could feel a knot form painfully in the pit of her stomach, twisting and writhing with every step she took toward the library. She knew he would be there--he was always there, waiting for her like he always did. When she walked in, a grand smile came forth upon his lips and he approached her with open arms.

"Hermione!" he exclaimed, about to pull her into his arms before Hermione stopped short of him. He dropped his arms to his sides when he saw that she was not to be stepping forward.

"No, Daniel...will you take a walk with me?" she asked cautiously. Daniel looked at her curiously, but abandoned his books at the table and followed her through the thick oak door into the halls. They walked alongside each other in silence for a few moments, Hermione hesitating and gathering her thoughts as best she could before opening her mouth to speak.

"Daniel, I...I don't think we can be together any more. It's not something you've done, I just...I don't feel like I've been myself lately, nor have a been a very good friend, and I just feel very confused right now. Do you know what I mean?"

The look on Daniel's face as he stared back at her blankly told her he had no idea what she was talking about. And, she realized, he probably had good reason, because she barely understood the words herself. Still, she pressed on.

"I just think I need some time to myself right now, to think about things and see where I am in my life...I'm sorry, I know this isn't something you want to hear but I...I need to," she finished lamely. Daniel, overtaken with sudden understanding, lowered his head in sorrow and refused to look at her. Hermione felt something tighten around her heart and she realized she felt horrible doing this, even though she knew if she didn't she would remain completely miserable. After a minute or two, Daniel stopped walking and looked up into Hermione's face.

"If you need anybody to talk to, or someone to lean on, you know where to find me, all right?" And with that, he turned on his heel and headed back to the library as swiftly as he could without being completely obvious. Hermione felt her heart dip quickly into her stomach and then return, and a huge weight was lifted from her shoulders. She felt like she could do anything, anything in the world. Which meant...

It would take her more time to prepare to speak to Ron. She knew she had made a mess of things and that earning back his friendship would take more than just a smile and nod. It wasn't until a week after breaking up with Daniel that she finally decided she had enough courage to confront Ron and attempt to patch things up.

That evening, after she left the Great Hall, she ascended the stairs to Griffindor Tower feeling the weight she had just been rid of settle down on her shoulders again. She tried thinking of every reason why she shouldn't bother with Ron when, much to her surprise, she couldn't think of any. There was no reason in the world why she shouldn't try to make things better with Ron. In fact, there wasn't one person in the entire world she would rather be friends with than him. That was the way it had always been. Why wouldn't she want to? He was Ron, the one who had stood up for her all those years, the one who had made her more furious than everyone she knew put together--and yet she still looked forward to seeing him every morning on the way to class. No matter how often or badly he teased her or annoyed her or frustrated her, she couldn't help but love being around him. She loved being around him. She loved how they were together and she wouldn't trade any of that for anything in the world. Suddenly, in the middle of her train of thought, she gasped. Did she...love him?

All her life, Hermione had never known what love was. Characters in books felt it all the time. Dictionaries all had their own little definition: an intense feeling of tender affection and compassion. But what exactly did that mean? How could you tell love from like and like from admire? How did you know when something was truly love? For Hermione, she had never had to try and discern any of the above. She loved her parents. She loved her friends. She loved the thought of having a successful future. Anything past that was unimportant or irrelevant to her. She had never dreamed in a million years that she would meet the man she loved and not even realize it. Every girl grows up thinking they'll meet the man of their dreams on a romantic evening in the perfect dress. Who could know that one girl could meet him at 10--and hate him? That it would take her seven years to finally realize that the boy she had been fighting with forever was the one she would give everything in the world to be with? It surprised her how she had not noticed before, not realized it while they were together, or even while they were apart. Maybe she did realize it...she must have. Perhaps she simply didn't' know how to deal with it, or maybe she felt it but didn't know to label it as love? Her mind was racing with thoughts of the past and the present as she stumbled though the portrait hole and stopped in the middle of the room. As everyone turned toward her, eyeing her strangely, she noticed the one head that hadn't looked in her direction staring into the fire. Grasping her side as it thronged painfully, she hobbled over to where he was sitting and fell to her knees in front of him, nearly knocking his Transfiguration homework out of his lap.

"Ron...Ron, I need to talk to you..."

Ron continued scribbling on his parchment as though not having heard her. She stared at him desperately until finally he set down his quill and looked up at her expressionlessly.

"What is it, Hermione?" he asked carelessly. Hermione was panting slightly, but she quickly composed herself and let go of her side.

"Ron, I...I think I've just realized something. Do you think maybe, maybe we could go for a walk?" she asked hopefully glancing around at the rest of the common room, which was full of people. He continued writing, still not looking up from his parchment.

"What, afraid to speak your mind in front of Harry? You used to be able to...anything you need to say to me, you can say in front of him." Hermione glanced awkwardly at Harry who, until then, had been deep into a Potions reading. He looked up at Ron, wishing he hadn't been brought into it. Besides, he had nothing against Hermione, held no grudges against her nor wished her any malice. Sure, it was nice having her around, but...he wasn't attached to her the way Ron was, which was why, Harry knew, Ron was acting so horribly.

"Ron, please..."

"I just told you, whatever it is you need to say you can say in front of Harry. So go on," he said, still not looking at her. Hermione felt her stomach drop a few inches, but determined to make things right, she took a deep breath and did her best to look him in the eye as she spoke.

"Ron, can...can this be over?"

Hermione felt her stomach twist. That was not what she had wanted to say at all. She could hear Ron's sharp intake of air and she grew worried as his ears became tinged with pink. After an awkward silence, in which Harry ceased his writing and listened in inconspicuously, Ron looked directly at Hermione, causing shivers to shoot down her spine. She had never seen Ron so angry before, in all their years as friends. And she could feel the tears building before he had even spoken.

"You know, Hermione, this has just happened so many times, I don't know what to say. I mean, I've always considered us to be best friends, but then one day you just stopped talking to me, and it really sucked. This just keeps happening, Hermione! There's only so many times you can try to come back into my life after you've chosen to leave it!"

Hermione was beginning to feel a bit hot. The pressure the tears had put on her was only getting worse, and she now felt as though she couldn't breathe. With what felt like all the strength in her entire body, she got to her feet, gave one last look at Ron, and left the common room as quickly as she could without running. As soon as she stepped through the portrait hole, the tears escaped her, sliding down her cheeks swiftly as she headed down the stairs. She wasn't sure where she was going; she only knew that she simply couldn't breathe where she was now. Before she knew it, she had reached the entrance hall. She pushed open the doors and the cool air immediately calmed her. She kept walking forward toward the lake until she reached a tall tree whose branches reached out and skimmed the surface of the lake. She took a seat beneath it and let her fingers play with the soft blades of grass. With every breath of cool air, she refocused her thoughts. What had she said? She had no idea where those words had come from. She had wanted to say something smart, something meaningful, or something apologetic at least. But somehow she had muttered the first words that had come to mind, and not she seemed immature and simple-minded. "Can this be over?" she muttered aloud. "What was I thinking?"


	21. Finally! The Commencement

So, once upon a time, this thing called College happened, and I was completely consumed by this thing called College for quite a long time. And then I came home. And then I remembered…I had a story to finish! So here it is, finally, the ending. You might notice that the end doesn't really feel like an end…but that's okay, because that's how it goes, and these things don't really end, you know? So oh well, some of you may like it, and some of you won't, but I tried my best, and I think it's sweet, so…hope you all enjoy! Please don't hate me for taking forever, I apologize sincerely…

Lauren.

Disclaimer: Hahaha, like I could ever write this well. No, I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 21

A Commencement of Complete Turmoil

Harry couldn't help but notice how much Ron had changed, and it struck him as odd that he hadn't noticed it before that very instant. Perhaps it was because he'd gotten used to it just being the two of them, with no Hermione, and therefore that side, that changed side of Ron hadn't poked its nasty little head out. But now, there it was, head fully reared, and as bitter and nasty as a rotten apple, and Harry hated it. Sure, he loved Ron, was his best friend, and would do anything for him, but…this was no way to fix things, and Harry knew that if Ron weren't so damn stubborn, perhaps this could end up the way it was supposed to—because even he knew that Ron and Hermione were like meant to be together.

"Ron, don't be a stubborn ass, do us all a favor and go follow her."

Ron looked up, not at Harry, but into the fire. The heat he felt on his face made his temper that much more intense. Finally, when it seemed he couldn't take much more, he turned his head to face Harry.

"Harry, who's side are you on? She just waltzes in here like nothing's wrong, like no time has passed, and expects me to suddenly just jump back to where she left off? You'd think she'd just been dumped or something, the way she just did that. You expect me to go forgive her?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I expect you to do. Because I know you, and I know that if you don't go find her you're going to be miserable. It doesn't matter how long it's been, she's your best friend and you two are always going to mean that much to each other, and you're always going to be thinking about her so you may as well save yourself the torture and go suck it up and forgive her."

If Ron seemed mad before, that was nothing to what the current expression on his face revealed. But this time it wasn't Hermione—it was the fact that Harry was right, and he knew it, and there was no denying it. He looked up at the ceiling, as though calling on some greater force for help, and looked back at Harry.

"Alright, you're…right," he said with a grimace. "Dammit," he whispered under his breath as he placed his books beside him and stood up.

"Well…see you later I guess," he said, and with a questioning half-smile on his face, he took his leave from the common room.

Outside, Hermione was nearing sleep as she leaned, carefree, against the tree on the lake, her hand gently skimming the top of the grass and her legs spread out in front of her, legs crossed at the ankles. At this point she had given up. Given up on fixing everything she had so carelessly ruined. She had come to the conclusion that she would just have to be on her own—she could do it, right? She was independent, didn't need anyone or anything. She would just do her work, get by, and graduate, and after that it was the real world, and she could escape Ron and Harry and never think of them again. It would be fine, she had told herself, just fine. It was all just a matter of determination, and if anyone had determination, it was Hermione Granger. These thoughts comforted her as she felt her eyelids grow heavy—the sounds of the light wind hitting the water and rustling through the leaves above her were so soothing, so relaxing that she couldn't help but succumb to their calm, and with a soft thud, her head was against the tree, empty of worry or thought, and she was peacefully asleep.

So peaceful was her sleep that she didn't even hear Ron approaching her fifteen minutes later, which would probably explain why she was so terrifyingly surprised when she woke up with him sitting next to her, head resting right next to hers.

"Oh my god!" she shrieked, jerking her head up so quickly she immediately felt the strain in her neck.

"Oh god, what?" Ron yelled, snapping his head up as well. They looked at each other, both rubbing their necks painfully.

"Ron, how long have you been here?" Hermione whispered, still trying to catch her breath. Ron looked at his bare arm and smiled.

"You know, I never did get the hang of wearing a watch, so I honestly couldn't tell you. if I had to guess though, I'd say about…an hour? It wasn't nearly this dark when I found you here, and you looked like you were having the best sleep of your life, so I thought, why wake you? I guess I fell victim to it to though, eh?"

Hermione tilted her head at him curiously…why was he suddenly being so friendly, when only…well, she had no idea how long ago exactly, but when only earlier that evening he had been so angry? She wanted to ask, but thought it best not to push any hidden buttons; if he was in a good mood now, there was no need to spoil it.

"So, you've brought me back to where we had our last talk…I guess this must be 'our' spot then, I suppose," Ron said, giving Hermione a sideways glance. And there it was, that grin—Hermione knew everything would be all right now. That grin…she suddenly felt at great ease, and with a sigh, she too sat upright, leaning her back against the tree next to Ron, crossing her arms in her lap and shifting her legs.

"You know, it didn't even occur to me when I first sat down, but you're right, this is the spot. I wonder why that is? That we just automatically come back to right here, right to this tree…"

"So, I believe you had something to tell me. And now that I've come all the way out here, slept against a tree, and had the living daylights scared out of me, whatever it is had better be good or I'll be sorely disappointed," Ron said with a chuckle. The slight frown that appeared on Hermione's face after hearing that made Ron laugh even more.

"Oh come on Hermione, lighten up, you were so relaxed a minute ago…I'm not being serious, I would have done all of that even if there hadn't been a reason." Hermione's frown didn't fade, however; it grew slightly deeper, because it suddenly hit her that she had to tell him…she had to tell him everything she'd realized, and she had to tell him about Daniel, and…

"Well…okay, this is a bit, well, complicated," Hermione said cautiously, not sure exactly where she was going to even start. Ron looked at her curiously, but stayed silent, ready for anything. Hermione paused, her fingers self-consciously beginning to fiddle with the grass. Ron laughed—that was so typical. Hermione was preparing herself for confrontation.

"I broke up with Daniel."

Ron's smile faded slightly, much to both his and Hermione's surprise. Hermione's shortly lifted spirits fell quickly once again, resting somewhere in the pit of her stomach. _Well, this certainly wasn't the reaction I was expecting…_

"Well…that's interesting. May I ask why?" he asked, looking her in the eye, which made her slightly uncomfortable.

"He…he was smothering me. The attention was nice at first, really, but after a while I…I felt like I wasn't myself any more, I felt like I was an extra appendage of Daniel's, just stuck to him and we had become one in the same, and it just…it didn't feel right," she said, being completely honest. Ron's face seemed to brighten some, which encouraged Hermione to continue.

"I guess I just realized at a point that I suddenly wasn't who I used to be at all—I never saw you or Harry any more, and it's not that I don't take responsibility for that, because I do, I got myself involved in this, but…it was more that I realized that I didn't like it. I didn't like not having you in my life. I didn't like it not being you that I depended on."

Ron's eyes grew wide at this statement, and Hermione shivered.

"I mean, you and Harry, of course, you, and, you know, Harry," she finished lamely. Ron's expression mellowed.

"Oh, right, well yeah, right. So…how did he take it then, Daniel, was he okay?"

"Well…he seemed a bit upset, but I think he understands…he offered his support, if I needed it, which was very nice of him, considering I'd just crushed his heart and everything. But in the end, I think he'll be alright."

"Wow. Well, that's good I suppose…" Ron replied, not sure of what to say. He sat there, his legs now crossed in front of him, his hands fiddling with each other in his lap. Neither sad anything, afraid to mar the peace they had so recently made. The wind continued to whistle through the tree above them, and it was then, during the silence that Ron realized it must have been rather late.

"Well, I think you know as well as I do that I can't very well stay angry with you…in fact, I find it funny just thinking about how angry I thought I was just a few hours ago, when we both know I forgave you the moment you collapsed in front of me…" Ron said, a gentle smile playing at his lips. Hermione felt her heart racing…she could tell this, if anything, was the moment…she had to…had to just say it…

"Ron, I—I think I'm in love with you. In fact, I know I am. I…Ron, I love you."

The air around them was pregnant with such a silence that neither of them could even move. Ron felt his eyes grow sore as the cool air stung them, but for the life of him he couldn't even blink. Hermione's expression remained slightly surprised, as though she were frozen, waiting for his reaction and stunned that she had been so bold. The only movement was the soft rising and falling of their chests, as though they were breathing in slow motion. After a minute, Ron hadn't responded, and it was then that Hermione realized that may not have been the right moment after all. She dropped her gaze as her mind fumbled around for the words, any words, that would repair her mistake. Her hands flew wildly across the grass as though trying to hold on to the world around her for stability—

"I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking, I obviously meant only as a friend, I love you as a friend, I'm just overcome with emotion because I'm just so glad to have you back in my life, as a friend, I'm so—"

Suddenly Ron's lips were pressed to hers and every thought swarming through her mind dissolved into nothingness. She threw her arms around his neck in a tight embrace as his hands grasped her waist and pulled her toward him. The sound of the whistling wind faded into silence as they remained there, in each other's arms, sharing the embrace they'd been longing to share for too long. After a few moments, Ron pulled back, taking Hermione's face in his hand, Hermione smiling meekly.

"Hermione, I…I've been wanting to tell you I loved you for far too long. Because I do, I always have. I…I love you, Hermione. I really do."

Hermione watched as Ron's cheeks turn red and felt hers grow hot as well. They both chuckled, still holding each other as tightly as ever. Hermione rested her head on his shoulder and sighed deeply, letting Ron wrap his arms around her even tighter.

"You have no idea how good it feels to finally hold you, after all this time," he said softly into her ear.

"Oh, I think I might have a bit of an idea," she said with a small chuckle. "I think I might know…"


End file.
